


Like Petals in the Wind

by BaraLinni



Series: Petalsverse [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Roleswap, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-06-07 03:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 66,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15210071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaraLinni/pseuds/BaraLinni
Summary: How would the events of Final Fantasy VII have played out if Aerith's and Sephiroth's roles had been reversed? How would Cloud have reacted to meeting Seph, the silver haired flower boy from the slums, and what would he have thought of Aerith, a.k.a. the Pink General, his greatest enemy? How much could one journey change because of two people, unable to resist the tides of fate, separated and scattered, like petals in the wind...Chapter art by this AU's co-creator Elisa can be found at: imaginative-spirit.tumblr.com/tagged/like petals in the wind





	1. A Fateful Encounter

****Cloud bolted down the stairs, his breath catching in his throat and his body thrumming with adrenaline. That explosion had been too much of a close call. Clearly, AVALANCHE was completely made up of amateurs, otherwise all of those complications would never have arisen. Or at the very least, they would have been taken care of swiftly.

He slowed down from his sprint, trying his best to blend into the confused crowd. People were bumping into each other and shouting everywhere, and while Cloud turned his head to get his bearings, he just about caught sight of a woman being pushed over by a running man. She landed heavily on her ass and some of the flowers from her basket joined her on the dirty cobblestones. Cloud, feeling a tug of chivalry at his heartstrings, began to hastily make his way over to her.

He had only taken a few steps when the woman suddenly pushed her silver bangs out of her face to reveal a pair of bright green eyes, practically burning with rage and indignity as she glared daggers into the back of the hastily retreating man. “Hey you! Watch where you’re fuckin’ goin’, asshole!” she shouted with a deep voice, raw with anger, and Cloud stopped in his tracks, shocked. He’d never heard a woman with such a deep… _Wait a sec…_

The running man shot a look over his shoulder as he ran. “Love ya too, Seph!”

“Kiss my perfect ass!” the wo-… man(?) shouted back just as the runner disappeared behind a corner. The… person of so-far undistinguished gender muttered darkly as they stood up and brushed some dirt off of their clothes. Then, they turned those burning eyes toward Cloud. They really were stunning eyes, complementing the person’s hair beautifully, but they were still burning fiercely. “What’re you lookin’ at? And what’s happened?”

Cloud was so caught off guard by that deep voice and the anger with which it was presented that he only just managed to squeak out a quick ‘Nothing!’.

The person, who Cloud was becoming increasingly sure was in fact a man, looked at him suspiciously. “Really?”

Cloud could feel himself sweating. “Yeah, I’m not looking. And I don’t know what happened”. Involuntarily, Cloud’s eyes moved down from the man’s face to take in the captivating braid that was slung over his shoulder and reached down to his hip.

The tip of the braid swayed slightly as the man changed his posture, moving his weight to one foot and cocking his hip to the side. If Cloud had not been so preoccupied studying the way the dim lights reflected off the man’s hair, he would have seen him cocking an eyebrow too. “Yeah, I can see you’re not looking”, the man said sarcastically. “What do you want?”

That question snapped Cloud from his very blatant staring. “You’re-”. His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. Why was he always so awkward around people? His eyes flitted from the man’s face down to his basket and he said the first thing that crossed his mind. “Don’t see many flowers around here”.

The man gave him a dubious look. “... Oh yeah? I’ll sell ‘em if you’ll buy ‘em”. He must have picked up on Cloud’s hesitance, because he changed his stance again, using his superior height to tower over Cloud in a slightly threatening way. “They’re usually 100 gil each, but for you I’ll make it 20”, he smiled, but there was something cold and calculating behind that smile. Something dangerous.

 _A good way to make business, I guess_. Cloud swallowed to steady his voice. “Yeah, I’ll buy one”. He fished out 20 gil from his pocket and found himself enveloped in a pleasant smell when the man leaned down to make the exchange. Cloud felt his hand close around the stem of a flower, but he was once again so mesmerised by the man’s catlike eyes that he had no idea what the flower even looked like.

The man leaned even closer to be at eye-level, his breath puffing against Cloud’s lips. “Pleasure doing business with you”, he murmured, before he stood up straight and walked away, leaving Cloud to stare at his back with equal parts confusion and admiration, and with a yellow lily clutched in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since FFVII is a really long game, there will be a lot of timeskips of varying length where the things that happen or are explained aren't really relevant to this specific storyline. I’ll try to put really long timeskips in between chapters, so hopefully it won’t be too confusing


	2. Reacquainted

_“Hey”._

Cloud squirmed, trying to focus on the voice. Was there even a voice? He wasn’t really sure. The last thing he remembered was… He jolted from the memory, squinting against the sudden light as all his senses seemed to return to him at once. Where was he? How’d he…

“Hey, you alright?”

Cloud leaned his head back and was greeted by the sight of a positively radiant being. He blinked a couple of times and then squinted his eyes even more to make sense of what he was seeing. Silver, braided hair and green eyes, like a cat’s. Stunningly beautiful. And… somewhat familiar. He just needed a moment to- why was his back wet? Wait, had the person asked him something?

Cloud sat up slowly and turned around to face the person. “Whe-”, he started and cleared his dry throat. “Where-?”

“Sector 5 slums”, the person answered in a deep, pleasant voice, still squatting on the ground. “You just crashed down through the church roof”.

Cloud was now able to actually focus enough to look properly at the person’s face. A… man? Probably, judging by the voice. He looked familiar, somehow… Cloud felt like his brain was too slow in catching up. _Wait, crashed down?_ “... From above?”

The man snorted. “Yeah, that’s usually where people fall from”. He stood up and placed his hands on his hips, looking around at the ground with discontent. “Few people fall right on top of my flowers, though”.

Cloud looked down and realised that he was in fact sitting in the middle of a flower bed. “Oh”. He quickly got up and examined the vaguely man-shaped patch of squashed flowers, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry”.

The man waved dismissively. “It’s fine, they’ve had worse”.

Cloud blushed and stepped gingerly between the remaining flowers until he was standing on the floorboards encircling the flower patch. As he did, he glanced up at the man. He really did look familiar...

“Didn’t really think we’d meet again like this”.

“... Huh?” Cloud hoped that he didn’t sound as stupid as he felt.

The man looked over at him. “You don’t remember? I sold you a flower”.

Cloud looked at the bed of yellow lilies, and then back at the man. “Oh!” He smiled brightly as the pieces finally clicked into place, and then his smile grew nervous as the rest of the memory resurfaced. “Oh... I’m really sorry! I can pay for the flowers if you want!”

The man gave another dismissive wave. “Nah. I told you, it’s fine”. He squatted down and started to reshape the wet soil around the flowers with his hands. The way he moved was so graceful, and the way the sun caught his hair was even prettier than the downtown lights from last time. The fact that his low-cut shirt was showing off a fair amount of his pecs wasn’t too bad either. The man looked up at Cloud, who realised that he was staring openly at him. “You could tell me your name, though”, he said and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

Cloud told himself to breathe before responding. “Cloud”.

“Cloud, huh. I’m Seph, resident flower boy and currently looking to hire a bodyguard. You interested?”

Cloud frowned at the sudden change of subject. “It’d cost you”.

Seph leaned closer to him conspiratorially. “How about you help me and we’ll forget about the flowers?”

Cloud frowned at him. “I thought you said that was fine?”

“Yeah, well, that was then and now’s not the best time”. Seph looked to be growing agitated. “Okay so, what d’you want?”

Cloud was about to think up an adequately overpriced amount of gil, but instead he found himself studying Seph’s facial features, eyes travelling down Seph’s jaw and neck, over his braid to his alluring low neckline and the necklace that rested there. When he looked back up again, he almost started at Seph’s wide grin.

“Hey, tell you what”, Seph started, grin changing into a knowing smirk. “I’ll pay you with a date”.

Cloud was so surprised with this development that he grabbed onto Seph’s extended hand without thinking, only realising that he had accidentally sealed the deal when Seph stood up and wiped his soil covered hands on his trousers, a triumphant grin on his face.

“Okay, Cloud the bodyguard, your job starts now. Get me home safely, and the date’s yours”. Then he cocked his head toward the church doors. “Your first assignment is to protect me from them”.

Cloud turned his head and saw a redhead dressed in a black suit swaggering toward them. _Turks._

There was the sound of steps from the direction of the door and three Shinra infantrymen marched up to the Turk.

Cloud instinctively moved to position himself between Seph and the intruders, readying his hand on the hilt of his sword to show them that he was serious. A job was a job, after all.

One of the infantrymen gave him a onceover and then turned to the Turk. “Reno! Want him taken out?”

The Turk, Reno, laughed and gave Cloud an amused look, his eyes moving down Cloud’s body and then up again. He looked into Cloud’s eyes and gave a lopsided grin. “Hmm. Haven’t decided yet”.

“Oh yeah?” Seph piped up from behind Cloud, annoyance clear in his voice. “Well you better _decide_ not to fight in here and fuck up my flowers. I’ve had enough of that for today”.

Cloud, slightly horrified at this apparent lack of fear or respect for the Turks, looked back at Seph, who was suddenly holding what appeared to be an old baseball bat with nails hammered through it.

Seph looked at Cloud and flashed him a dark smile and Cloud swallowed.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

~~

“Where are you going?” Cloud shouted over their echoing footsteps, narrowly avoiding plunging his foot right through a rotten patch in the floor.

“How the fuck should _I_ know?!” Seph shouted back as he leapt across an abyss where some sort of balcony must have existed while the church was still somewhat intact. The remaining floorboards creaked ominously when he landed and began to run up the nearly collapsed staircase. “You’re the bodyguard, do your job!”

Cloud rolled his eyes as he crossed the gap. “Is there a way onto the roof?”

Seph dodged a piece of  wood that jutted out from the stairs. “Where do you think I’m going, smartass?”

Cloud bit back his comment on who exactly was being a smartass, and followed Seph across another huge gap in the floor, then up a ladder and onto the half-rotted roof beams.

The sound of shouting and gunshots made them both jump and scatter, diving behind a couple of barrels that were balancing precariously on the beams.

Out of nowhere, Cloud had an idea, and pushed the barrel until it toppled over and fell from its perch. As it fell, it was joined by a second barrel, and Cloud looked over at Seph, who shot him a triumphant smirk. There were two loud thumps and cursing from downstairs, and Cloud suddenly felt an immense urge to high-five someone.

Instead, he got up and started to run across the old wood. “Good enough, let’s get out of here!”

He let Seph cut in front of him and followed him across the roof beams of the bigger room - he could see the flower bed a good drop below them - and then out through a hole in the roof into the dim light of the slums. They scrambled further along the roof as to not be in immediate danger if their pursuers found them. Cloud reached for his sword, just in case, while Seph sat down, panting.

"We're lucky you decided to drop by", Seph heaved. "Gave us a good escape route".

Cloud regarded the hole in the roof sheepishly. If he leaned over it, he could just about spot the flower bed down there. "You okay?" he asked while surveying the inside of the church for movement.

“Yeah. I’ve told those guys to fuck off, but they just won’t listen”, Seph laughed breathlessly, lying down onto his back and stretching his arms above his head.

Cloud glanced over at him without turning away from the hole. “You mean this isn’t the first time?” Seph’s lack of response was an answer in itself. “The Turks deal in a lot of shady business. What’d you do to get them on your tail like this?”

Seph sat up and fixed Cloud with a grin. “I think they want me for SOLDIER”. Then he stood up and brushed some grime off of his clothes, having apparently recovered from his breathless state. “Too bad for them, though. I’m a busy man”. He motioned behind himself with his thumb. “Let’s go”.

Cloud remained unconvinced of the real reason for the involvement of the Turks, but figured that Seph wouldn’t answer him truthfully anyway. He shook his head to himself and followed Seph over the mass of debris, figuring that staying off the roads would be the safest bet.

“Hey, by the way…” Seph slowed down to let Cloud catch up, and then they continued side-by-side. “Were you ever… in SOLDIER?”

Cloud didn’t allow his steps to falter at the question and kept his eyes steadily on where his feet would land. “Used to be. How’d you guess?” He glanced up and found himself locking eyes with Seph.

“Your eyes. They have that same glow”, Seph said almost softly, and Cloud caught a glimpse of something passing across his face like a shadow, before he looked away again and kept climbing.

“Same?” Cloud could sense that Seph had let something slip in that moment. For that split second, his face had showed a wider range of emotions than Cloud had thought possible during such a short timeframe. He wasn’t one for gossip, mind you. But it did make him curious. “What d’you mean?”

Seph snorted and kept his back to him. “Never you mind. Time to go, bodyguard”.

~~

“I’m home”, Seph called as he stepped through the door to a modest house on the outskirts of the slums.

Unsure of what to do, Cloud stood awkwardly outside the door while a kind-looking woman walked into view and smiled warmly.

“Welcome back!” The woman spotted Cloud and her smile faltered for a fraction of a second before it returned to its initial glory. “Oh! Did you bring a… friend?”

That short pause in her question made Cloud shuffle his feet awkwardly.

Seph, on the other hand, scoffed and rolled his eyes. “No! That’s Cloud, my bodyguard”.

The woman, who Cloud guessed was Seph’s mother, laughed and waved her hand. “No need to get so flustered. Well then, Cloud, please do come in”. Then her forehead creased in worry. “Bodyguard? Oh, Seph, please tell me you weren’t followed again”.

Seph shrugged and kicked at the floor. “We took care of ‘em, nothing to worry about”.

The woman sighed and walked past Seph, patting his shoulder in passing, and stopped to extend a hand to Cloud. “I’m Elmyra. Thank you for taking care of my son”.

Cloud shook her hand and held back a smile at Seph’s affronted face.

Elmyra smiled at him again before she went upstairs, leaving Cloud and Seph to look at each other awkwardly.

Finally, Seph broke the silence. “Well, your job here’s done. What’re you gonna do now?”

Cloud thought back to the paths they’d taken to get to this house and realised that he’d recognised none of them. “... Is Sector 7 far from here? There’s somewhere I need to go”.

Seph shrugged. “Not too far. Place is a maze, though. You’ll be better off if I show you the way”.

Cloud furrowed his brow. “Won’t they still be looking for you?”

Seph raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “I’m used to it”. Before Cloud could question this logic further, Seph turned to shout toward the staircase. “Mom! I’m taking Cloud to 7, be right back!”

A long suffering sigh carried down the stairs. “At least try to stay safe for once, okay?”

“Yeah yeah”, Seph called back and grabbed his bat, motioning to Cloud to follow him outside. Once the door was shut behind them, Seph rolled his eyes. “Mothers”, he muttered, seemingly to himself, before he started walking, apparently counting on Cloud to fall into stride. “So basically, you have to go through Sector 6 to get to 7”.

“Makes sense”, Cloud admitted as he quickened his pace to catch up with Seph’s long strides.

“Doesn’t it just”.

They walked in silence for a while after that and Cloud did his best to memorise landmarks in case he needed them. A dangerously tall house, a man in a sewer pipe, through a hole in the wall, through an abandoned building site and out onto a rundown playground.

Seph’s voice almost startled him in the silence. “What rank were you?”

“Huh?”

Seph gave him an amused look. “In SOLDIER”.

“Oh. First”.

“First?" Seph almost sighed, and his eyes grew softer, his mouth forming a melancholy smile. "Same as him, then”.

Cloud eyed him warily, afraid to disrupt whatever was going on in his head, but too curious not to ask. “Same as who?”

Just like that, the softness was gone and was replaced by a burning anger, practically dripping with bitterness. “My ex”.

Cloud swallowed, suddenly fearing for his own safety if he continued prying, but _dying_ to know who could’ve messed up badly enough to elicit such anger. “If he’s a First, I probably knew him. What’s his name?”

Seph kicked at the ground, sending a clump of sand flying. “Doesn’t matter”, he snapped, and that put an end to that discussion.

The loud metallic scraping of the sector gate in front of them made them both freeze momentarily, until they saw the chocobo and the wagon and realised that the Turks would probably not be pursuing them like that. Probably.

The wagon turned to the right and took off down the muddy road and Cloud threw a disinterested glance at the woman standing in the back of the wagon. And then he did a double take.

“ _Tifa?!_ ”


	3. Wardrobe Panic

“I still don’t get why this is such a big deal”.

Cloud looked back at Seph while he paced around, trying to figure out where the wagon would have gone. “I told you, Tifa wouldn’t just leave 7 like that. She either has a plan or she was kidnapped. Either way, we can’t just leave her like that”.

Seph shrugged. “She didn’t look too kidnapped to me”.

“So, she has a plan. And if I know her, it’s a risky one, so that’s even worse”.

Seph shook his head and started to walk again.

Cloud glared defiantly after him. “Where’re you going? Aren’t you at least gonna help?”

Seph stopped and turned back towards Cloud, his expression somewhere between annoyed and completely indifferent. “There’s only one place here where women go dressed like that. If you want to find your friend, your best bet is to do as I say”.

He was right, naturally. Seph knew these slums, and Cloud didn’t.

Cloud stalked after him begrudgingly, raising an eyebrow when he saw the neon lit building they were heading toward. “We’re not going in there, are we?”

Seph ignored him and made his way over to the very butch looking bouncer at the door. “Hey. We want some answers”.

The bouncer eyed Seph’s homemade spiked club and Cloud’s sword with disinterest, and crossed her burly arms. “Only members get in here, so scram”.

She didn’t budge when Cloud stepped forward, except for raising an indifferent eyebrow. Clearly, Mako eyes and huge swords were pretty much standard in her line of work. No chance of threatening her, then.

Changing tactics, Cloud adopted an apologetic smile and looked up at her with - hopefully - endearing eyes. “Sorry, we just want to know if there’s someone named Tifa in here”.

The bouncer fixed him with a calculating glare. “The new girl? She’s being interviewed right now”. Her voice took on a reluctant tone. “She’ll be unavailable until the Don’s seen her”.

Cloud looked between her solemn face and Seph’s unmoving one. “The Don?”

The bouncer ground her boot into the ground. “Some rich ass who thinks he owns the world, currently lookin’ for a bride”. She looked down at Cloud with a difficult-to-read expression. “You better hope she doesn’t get picked”.

That comment sent chills down Cloud’s spine, but Seph had dragged him away before he could ask her what she meant.

When Seph spoke, his words were practically ground out from between his teeth. “Looks like we’re going to the Don’s mansion”.

Cloud was almost jogging to keep up with Seph’s strides, too confused to question how exactly they would get into the mansion of the richest person around. The mansion wasn’t too hard to find, seeing as it towered over the other houses and shops. _A mansion this big must have heavy security_ , Cloud thought, beginning to formulate a plan of approach. Maybe if they snuck in from the side…

His planning was interrupted when he realised that Seph had marched them right up to the guard in front of the main gates. _So much for sneaking in_.

Seph stopped right in front of the guard, looking just about ready to put his baseball bat to good use, when the guard looked up with a smile.

“Well, hello there, sweetie, aren’t you a cute one!”

Cloud could see hesitation overtake the anger on Seph’s face.

“You know what”, the guard continued, apparently completely oblivious to the sudden change of mood, “I’d bet the Don’d think you’re pretty, too. You’re like, exactly his type of girl”.

Seph seemed to think for only a fraction of a second before his whole demeanor changed. He lowered his head, batting his eyelashes while he hid his baseball bat behind his leg, a shy smile barely showing behind his bangs. “You think so?” he asked softly, in a higher pitched voice than usual.

The guard didn’t seem to notice Cloud’s appalled stare. Instead, he grinned widely. “Definitely! He’s looking for a bride, you know. If you’re not busy, you could even see him right now!”

Seph’s face lit up with a smile. “Really?”

The guard nodded, and turned to address Cloud. His face grew serious again and he waved his hand dismissively at him. “Sorry, man, the Don isn’t into guys”.

Cloud didn’t even get the chance to express his indignation before the guard had turned his attention back to Seph.

“So, what d’you say?”

Seph twirled a lock of hair around his finger, the tiniest hint of a pout on his lips as he seemed to consider the offer. “Umm”, he started, keeping his eyes on the guard’s boots, “I’m kinda shy, so could I bring my friend? She’s really cute and sweet, I think you’d like her…” He glanced up and smiled sweetly at the guard, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! Of course!”

Cloud really had to hand it to Seph. He had that man wrapped around his little finger.

Seph’s smile widened. “Alright! Laters!” He finished off the conversation with a small wave before he practically sashayed away, hips swaying with every step and with Cloud following him, unsure of what else to do.

The second they were out of sight, Seph rolled his eyes and fell back into his usual walking style. “What an absolute moron. Gave us a free ticket inside just like that”. He shook his head and snickered to himself. “Idiot”.

Cloud frowned. “Us? You’re the only one who was invited”.

Seph laughed and gave him a shrewd smile. “Me and one cute friend, remember?”

Cloud wasn’t sure that he was following. “And who’s that?”

Seph huffed another laugh. “Remember I said your best bet is to do as I say?” He looked at Cloud and grinned. “If you wanna help Tifa, you better do _exactly_ as I say”.

~~

“I can’t believe you actually _said_ that!” Cloud hissed through the curtain as he peeled off his shirt.

“I said what I had to”, Seph responded from outside the cramped fitting room. “And we’re in the same boat, anyway”.

Cloud scoffed, turning the dress around in his hands. “... How do you even put this thing on?”

Seph sounded annoyed. “You step into it and zip the back. Have you never seen someone put on a dress before?”

“My mum was an early bird and my childhood friend was Tifa, so no, I haven’t”. Cloud carefully pulled the dress up over his legs, afraid that he might damage the fabric. He stuck his hands through the sleeves and was utterly lost. “... How do I zip myself up at the back?”

“You just do it”.

Cloud frowned at the unhelpful answer. “Thanks a lot”. Then he jumped as the curtain was pulled aside and Seph’s head appeared. “ _Gah!_ Dude, what the fuck?!”

Seph smirked while Cloud tried to cover himself using the dress. “Stop stalling and turn around or we’ll be here for days”, he instructed and promptly zipped the back of the dress when Cloud complied. He nodded in appreciation. “Looks like a good fit, that guy sure knows what he’s doing”. Then he grabbed Cloud by the arm and hauled him out of the fitting room.

“No, wait!”

Cloud suddenly found himself standing alone in front of the shop owner, his daughter, and a very surprised customer. And he was wearing a dress. A purple dress. Which was _so_ not his colour, by the way.

Before the stunned silence could turn awkward, the shop owner put his hands together and smiled. “Brilliant! Absolutely stunning! And it’s a perfect fit! I really have outdone myself this time, if I do say so myself!”

Cloud turned to look at himself properly in the mirror and inclined his head. He had to admit that this specific shade of purple actually went together rather nicely with his eyes. And the shape of the dress was almost… flattering.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the shop owner clapping his hands together again.

“Well, would you look at that, another perfect fit! Beautiful! That shape’s just right for you!”

Cloud looked over at Seph, who was now standing next to him in a sophisticated black dress with a thigh-high slit in one side. Cloud looked back at his own reflection and frowned. How come Seph got a sexy dress and Cloud got stuck with a dress that made him look like a five-year-old at a family gathering?

Before he could voice his complaints, Seph hummed thoughtfully and leaned down to look at Cloud’s reflection. “Cute. But you need a wig”.

“Ah, yes I thought you might”.

They both turned towards the shop owner, who was still smiling uncontrollably.

“I talked to my friend about it. Go ask at the gym, he knows his way around these kinds of things”.

Seph thanked him and disappeared back into the fitting room, so Cloud was once again left to stare at himself in the mirror.

Well, maybe he didn’t look sexy, but cute was a good alternative! Playing shy and cute would probably be easier than playing sexy, anyway. He might need some make-up, though, or the Don might actually pick Seph over him-

He glared at his eyes in his reflection. What was that about? This was a rescue mission, not a beauty pageant!

Still, it would be fun to be chosen over Seph, if nothing else than to see what kind of face he’d make.

~~

The smell of sweat and testosterone hit them like a brick wall the moment they stepped into the gym, and Cloud was vividly reminded of all the time he’d spent in the SOLDIER locker rooms. Good times…

When the door slammed shut, a woman appeared from behind the wrestling ring and smiled warmly. She looked like the epitome of femininity, and Cloud found himself wondering why she would willingly hang out in a place like this. That is, until she opened her mouth.

“You the ones who want to be cute?”

Cloud found himself struck with a sense of deja vú at the disproportionately low and slightly rumbling voice. Ah. So that’s what the shop owner meant by ‘these kinds of things’.

Seph, seemingly unfazed, jabbed his thumb toward Cloud. “That’ll be him. I’m going for ‘sexy’ myself”.

The person looked Seph up and down and nodded. “Wise choice”. Then he turned to Cloud. “Hiya, I run things around here. You can call me Big Bro”.

Cloud shook his - perfectly manicured - hand and cleared his throat. “So, about that wig…”

Big Bro waved his hand. “Yeah, I heard all about it”. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “It’ll cost ya, though, hun”, he smiled and booped Cloud’s nose, making Cloud frown in confusion.

Suddenly, the smell of testosterone intensified and Cloud felt a warm presence at his side. He turned his head and was met with the sight of a wide, muscular chest, barely contained within a shiny wrestling suit. He could see the muscles tightening and relaxing as the man moved his arms, and he swallowed, suddenly feeling utterly dehydrated.

He only became aware that the owner of the - perfectly sculpted and just the right amount of hairy - chest had spoken when he heard the sound of other men shouting. Not quite sure how it had happened, Cloud suddenly found himself practically sandwiched between three equally toned chests with complementary burly arms. He swallowed again and closed his eyes. _Be strong, Cloud._

“Sound good?”

Cloud could barely make out Big Bro’s question through the sound of blood rushing to his cheeks. He nodded, trying his hardest not to put too much attention on the fact that the back of his right hand was pressed against something that may not have been a thigh.

“Great, then let’s do it!”

And just like that, the veil of testosterone lifted and Cloud found himself standing face-to-face with the owner of the first chest.

The man assumed some sort of a readying position, knees bent and arms raised, and shot Cloud a confident grin. “I’ll be the one who wins and gets Big Bro’s wig, little one”.

Suddenly acutely aware that he had no idea what exactly he had agreed to, Cloud looked over at Big Bro. “... Are we fighting?”

Big Bro laughed and shook his head. “No, hun, you’re squatting. Better start paying attention or you won’t get far in life”. He winked and Cloud muttered an apology.

Off to the side, Seph snorted.

“Positions!” Big Bro exclaimed and Cloud mimicked the other man’s stance. “Whoever has the most squats after 30 seconds gets the wig! Ready… _start!_ ”

Now, squats was something that Cloud felt fairly confident in doing. But his opponent was no pushover either, it seemed, easily keeping up with Cloud, spurring him to go faster still. When Big Bro finally announced that time was up, they both slumped down, breathing heavily.

“20-19 to the newbie, nicely done! You beat my boy, but just barely”. Big Bro produced a bag and handed it to Cloud. “Here you go, hun, as promised”. Then he turned to the other man. “As for you…” He suddenly raised his voice to a tremendous volume. “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE?”

“CUTE!” the man responded with nearly the same volume, quickly jumping onto his feet.

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?” Big Bro shouted, and all men present responded in unison.

“TRAIN!”

“THEN GET TO IT ALREADY, YOU UNSIGHTLY BEASTS!”

The men began to exercise frantically while Big Bro kept up the chanting.

Seph and Cloud looked at each other and began inching toward the door, slipping out into the fresh air while the chanting continued behind them.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE?”

“CUTE!”

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?”

“TRAIN!”


	4. Wardrobe Completion

****“I honestly cannot _believe_ he gave you a fuckin’ _tiara!_ ”

Cloud couldn’t help but smile at how Seph was practically dripping with outrage. “Just goes to show that it pays to be curious”.

“And the _perfume!_ ” Seph added, either having not heard Cloud or having chosen to just ignore him.

Cloud shrugged. “She was blocking the toilet and I needed to go”.

Seph rounded on him so quickly that Cloud was almost certain that he was going to get punched in the face. “Are you doing this on purpose just to one-up me? 'Cause we both know I’ll be the prettiest girl anyway, don’t kid yourself”.

“This isn’t a competition!” Cloud bristled. He met Seph’s eyes evenly and spoke without really considering the consequences.  “But if it were one then yeah, I’d totally one-up you, _just_ to prove that you aren’t really all that hot”.

Seph looked down at him, the fire of a sore loser burning in his eyes. “Okay then, let’s make this the last stop. Whoever gets the best item takes the lead. Deal?”

Cloud was going to remind him that this was _not_ a competition, but something about this whole situation just seemed to awaken his competitive side. He nodded. “Deal”.

Seph nodded and started walking again, and Cloud realised that they were once again approaching the neon lit building from before.

Once they reached the doors, Seph produced two cards and held them up to the bouncer.

The bouncer, who Cloud realised wasn’t the one from before but another big butch woman, eyed the cards and stepped aside to let them pass, which they did.

Cloud couldn’t help leaning in and murmuring to Seph. “Why do you have member’s cards to this place?”

Seph shrugged. “Swiped 'em off some guys down the road”.

Cloud nodded and made a mental note to himself to keep better track of his belongings from now on.

They didn’t have to wait long before two young women hippity-hopped up to them. Cloud found himself thinking that he might have found them attractive had he not been so utterly distracted by their overly welcoming attitudes. And their bee costumes.

“Welcome to the Honeybee Inn!” they greeted in unison.

“Please feel free to pick any unoccupied room”, the one on the right smiled and they both did a sweeping gesture towards two doors to the left.

Cloud looked up at Seph. “What room are you picking?”

Seph shrugged. “Whichever room you don’t pick”. Then he turned to Cloud and the competitive fire was there again. “I’ll give you that advantage”.

Cloud glared at him before stalking off to the nearest door. If that was how it was gonna be, then fine. But Seph had better prepare to lose. “This one”, he declared firmly.

He could hear Seph’s mocking smile in his voice, trying to throw off his resolve. “You sure?”

“Yes, I want this one”, Cloud snarled at him over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seph walk over to the other door.

“Okay. See ya later then~”, Seph sang out to him and Cloud scoffed.

He was about to retort with something witty when the bee ladies unlocked the doors and ushered them into their respective rooms, effectively interrupting the building argument.

“Welcome to the Group Room”, the bee lady smiled while Cloud took in his surroundings - the most eye-catching being a big bed and a huge bathtub. “Just wait a moment and everyone else will be here shortly”.

At that moment, Cloud realised that it might have payed off to read the terms and conditions. “... Everyone?”

The sound of several feet thumping in rhythm interrupted the bee lady before she could answer him, and she stepped out of the way just before the door slammed open.

“ONE, TWO!! ONE, TWO!!”

A hoard of burly men dressed in wrestling suits jogged into the room while shouting rhythmically. They stopped right in front of Cloud, and two of the men toward the back waved at him happily.

Cloud recognised them from the gym and raised his hand in a nervous greeting, making the two men beam at him.

The man at the front, probably their leader, stepped forward. “Wassup!!” he boomed.

“WASSUP!!” the others echoed, almost making Cloud flinch at the volume.

The front man flashed the biggest and brightest smile that Cloud had ever seen and stepped even closer, giving Cloud a front row view of his naked and impressively muscular chest.

 _Oh man…_ Cloud thought and swallowed. His mom had been right all those years ago; the big city really was full of temptations.

The man was still panting from the run, chest heaving and shining with sweat. It was honestly… mesmerising. “Don’t be so embarrassed!” he exclaimed and the rest of the men laughed. “Loosen up, bubby!”

A slap on his shoulder shook Cloud out of his daze, and he found that the man was now leaning down to see eye-to-eye with him, his moustache only a few centimetres away from brushing Cloud’s nose.

The man’s hand stayed on his shoulder, squeezing firmly. “I’m Mukki! Now, let’s wash off all our sweat and dirt together!”

As if on cue, all of the men started undressing simultaneously, and Cloud suddenly found himself surrounded by a sea of brawny and extremely naked men. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and, desperate for an escape route, he turned towards the bee lady, who was deeply engrossed in a crossword puzzle and paid them no mind. Cloud looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. _Be strong._

“Aren’t you undressing?”

Mukki’s question brought Cloud back from his exile of indecent thoughts and he realised that he was the only one left with their clothes on, save for the bee lady. Why was she even there, anyway? Maybe she was actually some kind of security guard. “Uh… yeah…” he answered distractedly, and then stepped back instinctively when Mukki stepped closer to him.

“Bubby! So, you’re the intimate type, huh? Well, that’s no problem!”

Mukki laughed and stepped even closer, until his heaving chest was so close that Cloud could have licked it, had he lacked the restraint needed to resist. While Cloud was busy watching the hair on Mukki’s chest move with his breath, he suddenly felt a tug at his shoulders and, looking down, he realised that Mukki was in the process of removing Cloud’s shirt. _Gods_ , this man was distracting!

“Woah! Wait a sec!” he exclaimed and backed up, realising that all the men were now looking exclusively at him in amusement. “... I’ll do it myself”. Because honestly, what other option did he have? He couldn’t just admit defeat and lose to Seph, could he? And if squeezing his naked self into a bathtub with ten other equally naked and incredibly well-built and handsome men was what he had to do... Well, who was he to oppose fate, really.

As quickly and as naturally as he possibly could with all of those eyes on him, Cloud shed his clothes and stepped into the bathtub before he could be too closely scrutinised. Have to leave some things to the imagination, after all.

Mukki sat down right behind him and patted his shoulder. “Wow!! Would ya look at that! You’re in really good shape, bubby!”

Cloud managed a small ‘thank you’ as the others chuckled and the rest of the tub filled up, with every additional person requiring that the others squeezed themselves tighter together.

When everyone was in position and Cloud had given in to the fact that he would be dealing with a knee pressing into his spine during all of this, Mukki sighed wistfully. “Isn’t bathing great? It soothes your heart…” Then he shifted closer to Cloud. “How is it, bubby? Feels good, huh?”

Cloud felt like he was concentrating way too hard on not thinking about naked genitals at that very moment. “There’s… really not much room here”.

Mukki laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Try counting to ten”.

Okay, yes, that was a good idea. Distracting himself from naked men with numbers. It was worth a shot. _Okay, then. Ten… Nine..._

“Hey bubby, how old are you?”

 _Eight_. “Twentyone…”

“Really? Then you’re less than half my age. I’m so jealous…” He sighed and then shuffled even closer to Cloud, however that was possible. “Hey, we have a trip planned at a cabin out in the country. Wanna join?”

 _Eight, no, seven. Wait, did he forget to count? Anyways, seven…_ “No thanks, I have plans”. Okay, this really was way too crowded for his liking.

Feeling that his legs were about to cramp up, Cloud tried to straighten his knees just a little bit. Which, of course, resulted in him accidentally pushing himself backwards until his back hit a firm chest. “Oh, sorry!” he exclaimed and tried to get a grip on the bottom of the tub to return to his previous position. His hand brushed against something and his eyes flew open. That was… definitely…… a……

He practically flew up out of the water, cheeks burning with embarrassment. “That’s it, I’m gettin’ out”.

“Already?” Mukki leaned on the edge of the tub as Cloud climbed out and grabbed the nearest towel. “Why don’t you stick around and play a bit? Daddy’s so lonely…”

For a moment, Cloud honestly could not tell if his heart was beating or not.

The other men guffawed and the nearest one thwacked Mukki on the shoulder. “Stop messing with him, you’re being disgusting”.

Another man bopped Mukki on the back on his head. “See, you scared the poor thing off!”

Mukki scratched the back of his head and gave Cloud a big, apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, I forget not everyone’s in on my jokes”.

Before Cloud could say that it was fine, Mukki held up a hand and shushed him. “Bubby! I have something for you!” He reached out of the bathtub to grab a bag, and from the bag he produced a small bundle of fabric. “This is important to me. Think of it as an apology, and as a memento of our time together!” He made a show of winking slowly, in the most exaggerated way Cloud had ever seen, and in that moment, Cloud was 100% sure of whom the… body part he had accidentally touched belonged to.

Cloud clutched the bundle in his hand while he hurriedly put on his clothes, ignoring that his hair was still wet and dripping down his neck. “Thank you”, he murmured, and the men guffawed as he walked over to the door. Deciding to end on a slightly higher note than utter embarrassment, Cloud turned around and waved at them. Then, without really knowing why, he blew them a kiss, earning him a round of applause and whoops as he swaggered through the door.

Mukki’s voice was the last thing he heard before the door shut behind him. “Hope we meet again~”.

Cloud stood completely still for a few seconds, taking in the decor while feeling as though he had just woken up from a mutated fever dream. Feeling dazed, he raised the hand in which he was still clutching Mukki’s gift. Holding onto what appeared to be a corner, he then let the rest of the fabric unfurl as it fell from his hand.

If the staff wondered why there was a young man lying on the floor, laughing hysterically while clutching a pair of women's bikini briefs, then at least they were doing a very good job at hiding it.

~~

“Took you long enough”.

Cloud, still feeling like he’d just woken up from a dream, couldn’t help but smile at Seph. “Yeah, it got pretty busy in there”. Then he caught the impatient look on Seph’s face and raised an eyebrow. ”Were you waiting for me? How sweet of you”.

Seph scoffed, obviously still very much in a competitive mood. “You’re the one who wants to save Tifa, not me". Then he seemed to think about it and shrugged. "I had the time to do some business out here, though, so I guess it’s all good”.

That comment made Cloud look around, and he spotted several men carrying yellow flowers. “Uhuh. And how many of them did you have to threaten?”

Seph waved a hand at him and started walking. “Not too many. You wouldn’t believe how desperate some people are”. He nodded toward a guy with orange hair. “That guy wanted a flower to impress his childhood crush, or whatever. Was real set on it too, so I sold him one for 100 gil”. Then he cocked his head toward a man with spiky red hair and dark shades. “That guy wanted to buy one to try and woo me, I think. Annoying as fuck, honestly. Made him pay 300”.

Cloud laughed at Seph’s obviously biased version of customer approach. “Do you raise the price every time you sell a flower or what?”

Seph shrugged. “Only for people I don’t like”. Then he smiled. “The bouncer bought one too. Apparently she’s dating a Turk. She was cool, though, so I sold her one for three gil”.

Cloud shook his head in amazement as they walked into the clothes shop. How Seph had even come up with the idea to sell flowers was beyond him.

Once they got inside, Seph stalked into the fitting room first, leaving Cloud to chat awkwardly with the brightly smiling shop owner.

“You know, this whole thing has given me new motivation! I’m thinking of making this a business!”

“That’s great”.

“I’m really grateful to you two for making me try something new. You’re welcome to return any time! I’ll even give you a discount!”

“Thanks…”

Seph exited the fitting room with his regular clothes in a bundle, and Cloud hurried inside. He put the dress on as best he could, figuring that Seph could zip him up again, and did his best to fit the wig over his unruly hair. The tiara followed, and then some perfume, and then…

He regarded the bikini briefs with a dawning realisation. “Hey, Seph…”

“Yeah?”

“How does…” Cloud swallowed. “I mean… The underwear. How do you make it… fit?”

He almost screamed when Seph’s head appeared from behind the curtain. “Ever heard of tucking?”

Cloud looked at him with building trepidation. “... No…?”

Seph rolled his eyes and squeezed himself into the fitting room, promptly lifting his skirt. “Okay, basically - hey, I’m showing to help, don’t look away - basically, you pull your balls up and your dick down, like this. Then it’s panties and then pantyhose over that, and you’re done. Questions?”

Cloud had so many questions concerning so many things. And yet, the only one he could think of asking was… “How do you know this?”

Seph smirked. “Let’s just say I have some… experience with drag queens”.

Cloud honestly wasn’t too surprised. Seph seemed like he was familiar with a lot of people in the slums. He inspected Seph’s handiwork and frowned. That really didn’t look too comfy… “Can’t I just skip it and go like normal? Won’t the dress hide it?”

Seph looked over Cloud’s overall appearance and shook his head. “Don’t think so. It’s too noticeable. To a man who knows what he wants, you’d just look like a dude in a dress”.

Cloud nodded solemnly. This seemed like it would be even harder than he’d thought. “... So… balls up, dick down?”

Seph grinned and gave him a thumbs up before he stepped back, disappearing behind the curtain.

A second or so later, a pack of pantyhose skidded into the fitting room from underneath the curtain.

… Alright then.

Cloud took a deep breath. Tifa better appreciate being rescued.

~~

An eternity of struggling later, Cloud had finally managed to create a rather decent tuck, if he did say so himself. He exited the fitting room with a sigh and was immediately scrutinised by the three people present.

The shop owner clasped his hands in what looked like reverie. “Oh my, that wig really did its job, didn’t it! You look like a proper lady now!”

Seph hummed thoughtfully and nodded. “It’ll do”.

The shop owner’s daughter finished folding a piece of fabric and turned to address Cloud and Seph. “Since you helped dad get his motivation back, the dresses are on the house”.

“Great, thanks!” Seph gave her a quick smile before turning to Cloud and humming thoughtfully. “As I thought. You’ll need some makeup to really sell it. Let’s hope they’re feeling generous at Honeybee”.

Cloud groaned. “Are we really going back there dressed like this?”

“Of course we are”. Seph sashayed through the little shop, stopping just in front of the door to smirk back a Cloud. “Unless your poor ego is too fragile to handle it, that is”.

Cloud glared at him. “I never said that”.

Seph nodded and stepped through the door. “Let’s go then, miss Cloud”.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Right behind you, miss Seph”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has come to my attention that I forgot to change the publication date for this chapter, but that's fixed now, sorry~ x} I'm aiming to post new chapters on Monday mornings (Europe time) so sorry about the miss and stay tuned for the next chapter <3<3<3


	5. Infiltrating the Mansion

As they approached the gates to the Don’s mansion, Cloud was growing more and more nervous. Once they stopped in front of the guard and Seph gave some kind of flirty hello, he was practically vibrating with nerves.

The guard laughed at whatever it was Seph said and peeked around him to get a better look at Cloud.

Yep, he knew it. This was it. The jig was up, he was going to blow his cover first thing. Who was he trying to fool, anyway? No one could be dumb enough to believe that he was actually a girl.

The guard whistled and smiled brightly. “ _Damn_ , your friend’s hot, too! Come in, come in!” He turned around and knocked twice. “Two ladies coming through!” he shouted and the doors opened.

Oh. Well, at least this guy seemed to be dumb enough.

Cloud tried to seem as inconspicuous as possible while they walked through the doors. He’d get busted any second now, he just knew it. Any second now… Any… second…

The sound of their steps echoed in the large entrance hall and the doors closed behind them with a dull click.

Cloud couldn’t believe it. They were in.

“Hey, ladies”.

They turned toward the voice and saw a man at a reception desk waving at them. Not knowing what else to do, Cloud waved back.

The man smiled and got up from the desk. “I’ll go let the Don know you’ve arrived. You two wait here”. He turned to walk away and then turned toward them again. “Don’t go wandering around, please…”

They nodded and the man disappeared into some sort of hallway.

After a couple of seconds - to make sure that he wasn’t just trying to trick them - Cloud and Seph shared a look and then ran up the stairs as quietly as possible.

The first door they tried was locked. The next door over looked like it probably led to some important room, judging by the fancy design.

Cloud was about to suggest that they check it out when Seph shoved his shoulder. Affronted, he turned to glare at Seph, who was already walking toward another, slightly ajar door further along. Since splitting up would be a bad idea, Cloud stalked after him and caught up with him just as he opened the door fully.

They both winced as the door made an ungodly shrieking noise, and then leaned forward to peer inside. All they could see in the dim lighting was dark stone walls and a staircase leading downwards.

Seph turned to Cloud and he nodded. If Tifa was here, the first thing she’d do would definitely be to check out the creepy basement.

They walked down the stairs quietly, trying their best not to step on their own or each other’s skirts, until finally they reached a round room, illuminated by candles and filled with mediaeval-looking weapons and other more questionable objects. In the middle of the room was a stone slab with the shape of a human body drawn crudely on it in chalk.

“... The fuck is all this sacrificial torture bullshit?”

Seph’s voice echoed far too loudly between the stone walls and Cloud shot him a glare that he hoped read as ‘If you get us caught because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll keep you personally responsible for everything that goes wrong after this'. Then his eyes caught sight of movement behind the stone slab, and his hand instinctively moved toward the hilt of his sword before he remembered that they had hidden their clothes and weapons outside the mansion. Well then. It looked like they would be looking forward to a fistfight.

He motioned for Seph to be quiet and go around the other side of the slab, hoping to corner whoever was hiding back there. There’d be no element of surprise, so it’d be best to get it over with quickly.

Cloud took a deep breath and then vaulted over the last part of the slab, aiming to land on top of or at least get in a decent kick at whoever-it-was.

Instead, he landed on the floor as the person nimbly dodged out of the way, and Cloud instinctively blocked the kick coming towards the side of his head. He dodged another punch and threw one of his own, but his opponent caught his wrist in a strong grip and pulled their other arm back, most probably aiming to sock him in the face.

As they did, a flickering candle illuminated their face and Cloud suddenly began to seriously fear for his life.

“Tifa, no! No, stop, it’s me! It’s Cloud!”

Tifa’s fist froze midway and she stared intently at Cloud’s face. Then she grabbed him by the collar of his dress and pulled him closer, into the candlelight, and her eyes widened in realisation. “Cloud…” Then she punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

Before he could voice his complaints, she hugged him tightly instead, her arms squeezing him almost painfully.

“We thought you’d died”.

Cloud felt like the last day of his life was rewinded in front of his eyes, right up to the point when the reactor blew up and… oh yeah, he did kind of fall dramatically to his presumed death back then, didn’t he. Even he himself had been almost certain that he wouldn’t survive that.

“Sorry”, he murmured and hugged her back, unsure of what else to say.

When they had hugged silently for a while, Seph’s voice echoed through the room again. “This is real cosy and all, but how about we don’t let them find us snoopin’ around in the Don’s torture chamber and get out of here, yeah?”

Tifa’s head snapped up from Cloud’s shoulder and she squinted through the dark. “Umm… Cloud…”

“Yeah, hi, I’m Seph, nice to meetcha, let’s get this show on the road”. Seph saluted her mockingly and turned and started to climb the stairs.

Tifa watched him for a few seconds and then broke the embrace, holding Cloud at arm’s length and looking him up and down. “... You’re both wearing dresses”, she observed.

“As are you”, Cloud noted, now that he had the time to actually take in her appearance. “Seems to be a popular way of infiltration”.

She smiled widely and waggled her eyebrows. “That eyeshadow suits you”.

Cloud shoved at her shoulder. “Fuck off”.

She laughed and started to climb upwards, making him follow behind her.

Now that Tifa was confirmed safe, Cloud was curious as to why she had put herself in danger in the first place.

“So what’s the plan? You’re here for a reason, right?”

Tifa nodded solemnly. “We got some intel that Don Corneo seems to be involved in some pretty heavy business. Barret said to leave it, but I had a feeling it was worth checking it out”.

Cloud skipped a step where the stones seemed especially brittle. “But why the dress? I wouldn’t have thought you’d have to dress up to pass as a girl”. He dodged the swat coming his way and laughed.

Tifa huffed in annoyance before continuing. “Basically, every night, the Don chooses the prettiest girl out of three as a bridal candidate. He has heavy security all around the mansion, so the only way to get close enough to interrogate him is to get picked”.

“That’s no problem then”, came Seph’s voice from further up, having obviously listened in. “We got three pretty girls right here, right? So whichever one he chooses can interrogate him while the others clean up downstairs”.

While Cloud snorted at the notion, Tifa hummed thoughtfully, looking from Seph to Cloud and then back to Seph.

“You know, that’s a really good point”.

“Thanks, I do my best”.

Cloud suddenly realised the implications of what they were saying. “Wait, are you saying we should all pretend we want to marry this guy?”

Seph looked back at him with an incredulous face. “Uh, yeah? That’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning”.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at Tifa, who nodded, and it finally dawned on Cloud what exactly he had agreed to do.

~~

Cloud’s first impression of Don Corneo was that he was very probably among the least attractive and the most unsettling people he had met in his life.

As the three of them lined up, the Don leaned forward over his desk, sweeping his eyes over them almost… hungrily. Cloud had to suppress a shiver of disgust and turned his eyes to the floor instead, busying himself with trying to guess how much that carpet had cost. He honestly did not know if he’d be able to look that man in the eye if he got paid. Hopefully, he’d come across as shy instead of revolted.

“Hmmm! Good, splendid!” the Don wheezed with a voice that almost made Cloud wince, and then his feet suddenly thumped onto the carpet in front of Cloud as he leapt over the desk. He swayed on the spot for a moment before swaggering over to Seph. “Now let’s see… Which girl should I choose?” He hummed and swaggered over to Cloud, leaning in so that Cloud could smell wine and tobacco underneath the stifling layer of perfume.

The overwhelming smell made him want to take a step back - or better yet, exit the building. Since both of those actions would seem incredibly suspicious, he settled for turning his face away and fiddling with his hands. If he was going to play shy he might as well make it as convincing as possible.

The Don leaned down to peek underneath Cloud’s bangs. “This one...” He straightened up and moved over to Tifa. “... Or this one? Ooh, so hard to decide~”. The Don walked to and fro in front of the three of them, dragging his eyes over them in turn and humming to himself. After what felt like an eternity in some kind of purgatory, the Don finally made a delighted sound and stopped pacing. “Woo-hoo, I’ve made up my mind!” he exclaimed and raised his hand dramatically. “My choice for tonight is…” He paused for effect, and Cloud didn’t even dare breathe. “... this healthy-looking girl!”

The silence following this statement made Cloud aware that he had closed his eyes, and he cracked open one eye to squint at the Don’s pointing finger. Which was pointing right at him.

Oncethis information had finally been processed, the implications of it dawned on him.

“Wh- wait a sec!” he started, indignant, before his brain caught up to his mouth and he cleared his throat, trying to make his voice softer and lighter. “ I mean, uh, please wait a moment!”

The Don’s eyes seemed to shine for a moment. “Woohoo! I love chickies who play hard-to-get! Yeowza!” he exclaimed, wiggling his hips in some kind of mockery of everything dance-related, and Cloud felt the blood drain from his face, and probably from every other part of his body too.

The Don turned toward his guards, and Cloud threw a desperate look at Tifa. _“I can’t do it!”_ he mouthed at her.

She gave him a sympathetic smile and a shrug.

No help, then. He would just have to… go through… with it…

He had just enough time to collect himself before the Don turned back towards him with an unsettling glint in his eyes. “Well then. Shall we go, my pretty?” He winked at Cloud and swaggered off towards a folding screen in the back of the room, clearly expecting Cloud to follow.

Cloud shot a last look at Tifa, who gave him an encouraging nod, and at Seph, who regarded him saltily. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was Cloud Strife - a bounty hunter and former SOLDIER. He had lived through worse than this. He let out the breath and opened his eyes, resolved to see the job through. The look Don Corneo gave him made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and made him certain that he had actually _never_ faced anything worse than what was about to happen.

Cloud rounded the folding screen with apprehension and found himself in a small but heavily decorated room, the main feature of which was a gigantic bed. Immensely glad that he had already established himself as shy, Cloud opted to stand in a corner as far from the bed as possible, back turned to the Don who had already climbed onto the bed.

“Ahh, we’re finally alone…” The Don’s voice was dripping with artificial sweetness and made Cloud’s stomach churn. The Don gave a hoarse laugh and there was a sound as if he slapped his thigh. “All right, pussycat, come to daddy!”

Cloud clasped his hands and took a deep, _deep_ breath, glancing at the door. There was no sound from outside… He hoped Tifa and Seph hadn’t run into any trouble.

The Don laughed again. “Don’t be shy. We’re all alone now…”

Cloud knew that he could only stall for so long before the Don either lost his patience or his interest, both of which would compromise the mission. He slowly shuffled closer to the bed, much to the delight of the Don, who rolled onto his stomach and elbows, hands propping up his chin.

“You’re so cute, I never get tired of looking at you”, he sighed. When Cloud stayed silent the Don inclined his head. “Do you… like me, too?”

The question caught Cloud by surprise. “Umm…”

A shadow passed over the Don’s face and he pouted, his voice becoming lighter and childish. “You don’t like me?”

Cloud shuffled his feet and the Don let out a sorrowful gasp. “There… there isn’t someone else you like, is there?”

Now, bearing the success of the mission in mind, the best thing to do in this situation would be to throw oneself onto the bed while exclaiming one’s love for the Don, effectively distracting him and hopefully lulling him into a false sense of security. So, naturally, what Cloud did - in his state of confusion and disgust - was the complete opposite.

“Yes, his name’s Barret…” he lied, and he found some kind of odd satisfaction in the way the Don squirmed and whined on the bed.

“What? No way!” Then the Don fell silent and frowned. “Hmm? Barret, you say? That sounds familiar…”

Oh well, here goes nothing. “He’s one of the ones you were trying to find out about. You know, AVALANCHE?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. In the Sector 7 slums…” The Don suddenly jumped and fixed Cloud with a suspicious stare. “... And how do _you_ know that?”

Cloud laughed, letting his voice drop to its usual pitch. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know…” He strode purposefully toward to door, positioning himself strategically to ensure his own escape and prevent Corneo’s.

The Don watched him closely and a look of realisation dawned on his face. “A man? In my own… You tricked me!” He sounded utterly indignant, and it filled Cloud with something like pride. “Stop smiling like you’ve already won! Somebody get in here _now_ _!_ ”

Cloud tensed at the sound of running outside the doorway, but relaxed when Tifa’s voice carried into the room.

“Unfortunately, no one’ll be coming to help”.

Tifa and Seph rounded the folding screen, wearing their regular clothes, and Tifa had Cloud’s sword strapped to her back. She handed the sword to Cloud, and the weight of it felt reassuring in his hand.

Meanwhile, the Don was sputtering on his bed. “You’re from before! What… what the hell’s going on?”

As one, the three of them started to walk slowly to the side of the bed.

“Shut up”, Tifa snarled, “we’re asking the questions now. So, what did those henchmen of yours find out? Talk! If you don’t tell us…”

Cloud, all too happy to fill the role of threatening muscle, pulled his skirt up to place one foot on the bed and leaned forward, letting the tip of his sword rest on the floor. His brief time with the Don had told him exactly which body part he was best off threatening. “... I’ll chop them off”.

The Don squeaked and crawled back on the bed. “No please, not that! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

Tifa’s eyes burned and her voice dripped with malice. “So… talk”.

The Don looked from Cloud, to Seph, to Tifa and back to Cloud and swallowed. “… I had them find out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that’s just what i was ordered to do”.

Tifa glared at him and crossed her arms, putting focus on her rather intimidating muscles. “By who?”

The Don squeaked again. “No! If I told you that, I’d be killed!

“Talk!” The volume and tone of Tifa’s voice made the Don flinch. Then she lowered her voice to a growl. “If you don’t tell us…”

As if they’d practiced beforehand, Seph placed a foot on the bed, mimicking Cloud’s posture, and grinned evilly. “… I’ll rip ‘em off”.

The Don practically screamed. “It was Heidegger of the Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!” Then he frowned at Seph. “… Wait, you’re a man, too?! But you were my second favourite…”

Seph’s grin turned victorious. “Just goes to show you shouldn’t be deceived by appearances”.

Cloud was rather more interested in the intel. “The head of the PSM?”

The volume of Tifa’s voice increased again. “The Shinra!? What are they up to!? Talk!” When the Don remained silent, her voice became a low rumble. “If you don’t tell us…” She mimicked Cloud’s stance, leaning just a bit further forward as she snarled, “… I’ll _smash_ them”.

The Don visibly shivered. “… You’re serious, aren’t you… Ohboy, ohbooy, ohboy”. Then, he seemed to regain some of his composure and his voice grew almost smug. "… I’m not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra’s trying to crush the little rebel group known as AVALANCHE”. He chuckled darkly. “And they really will crush them… literally. By breaking the support holding up the plate above them”.

Tifa’s eyes grew wide and she backed away from the bed, horrified. “Break the support!?”

The Don twisted his face into a smirk. “You know what that’ll do, don’t you? The plate’ll go PING and everything’ll go BAMMM!! I heard their hideout’s in the Sector 7 slums…” He shrugged and chuckled again. “I’m just glad it’s not here in Sector 6”.

Tifa looked and sounded absolutely mortified. “They’re going to wipe out the Sector 7 slums!?” She turned to Cloud, begging him with her eyes, and he nodded. Of course he’d  come with her, she needn’t even ask. She smiled at him and gave Seph a questioning look. Seph nodded too, and the three of them hurried toward the doorway. When they were at the foot of the bed, Don Corneo spoke up.

“Just a second!”

Against their better judgement, they all stopped, and Cloud growled at the Don. “Shut up!”

The Don jumped to his feet, swaying on the bed. “No wait, it’ll only take a second”. He moved on the bed again, trying to find a steady position. “So, here’s the thing. Why do you think scum like me would babble on about the truth?”

“‘Cause they’ve given up on their miserable life”, Seph hissed and turned to walk away.

The Don laughed. “Close, but no cigar!” Then he quickly reached out with one hand and pulled a lever, and Cloud felt the floor give way beneath them.

The last thing Cloud saw before he tumbled to his presumed death for the second time that day was Don Corneo, dancing and laughing maniacally before losing his balance and toppling over.

~~

Cloud wasn’t sure who was screaming, only that it ended abruptly when the three of them landed with a splash. Once Cloud got his bearings, he took in their surroundings and deduced that they were in a sewer. When it hit him what that implied about what kind of liquid they’d landed in, he quickly looked down at the floor and at his dress. He’d landed on his feet, but the liquid had splashed almost up to his hips, and the hem was utterly drenched. And just as he was starting to grow fond of it, too…

He sighed and walked over to Seph, who had landed on his hands and knees and looked like he really would have preferred not to. “You okay?”

Seph gave him a look full of suffering before he stood up, regarding his drenched clothes and dirty hands. Slowly, he turned his eyes down at his braid, and let out a mewling sound of sorrow and disgust at the realisation that half of it was absolutely drenched in sewer fluids. “Noo, this shit’ll never wash out!” He chanced a sniff at his braid and reared back in disgust.

Cloud left him to lament the possibility that his hair might never again smell of lavender and walked over to Tifa, who seemed to have slid further along the tunnel on her butt. “You alright?”

She didn’t look at him and instead kept her eyes fixed on the roof. “Man, this is terrible”.

“Tell me about it”, Seph muttered from behind them. “I’ll need some industrial ass shit to get this stench out”.

Tifa sighed deeply. “It’s too late… Marlene… Barret… the people of the slums…”

“My hair…” Seph moaned.

Cloud sighed. He wasn’t usually much of an optimist, but someone had to say something. “It’s not easy to destroy the pillar, right? I mean, it’s built to last. There’s still time”.

Tifa finally looked up at him and nodded slowly. “... Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! We still have time”. She got up with a wet sloshing sound and wrung out her hair before tossing it back with a wet slap as it hit her back. “Let’s go then!” She climbed a nearby ladder and marched off, Cloud and Seph following a bit behind.

Now that most of the excitement was over, Cloud finally had the time to ask Seph about something he’d been wondering about for the last hours. “Hey, Seph. Why’d you agree to help? With the Don, I mean”.

Seph kicked at an empty can and shrugged. “Guess I felt like fucking with him”.

That answer did nothing to sate Cloud’s curiosity. “Why?”

Seph huffed. “Honestly, I just hate the fucker. Hadn’t met him myself, but I’ve known about his little ‘hobbies’ for a long time. And how he treats people”. His tone grew almost grim. “You hear all sorts of shit when you’re just the flower boy passing through”.

Cloud didn’t know what to say to that, and Seph’s face told him that continuing the conversation was not an option, so instead, he quickened his pace to catch up to Tifa.

They marched silently for a while until Tifa glanced over at him with a sparkle in her eye. “So, alone time with the Don, huh?” She shoved teasingly at his shoulder. ”How’d it go?”

Cloud made the kind of face that he’d had to refrain from doing ever since entering the Don’s mansion. “Let me just say that never before has a man made me so acutely aware of my gag reflex”.

“Sounds like you two had a good time then”. Tifa ducked away from Cloud’s hand and he ended up flicking sewer water in his own face instead, much to her amusement.

Cloud sighed and did his best to wipe off his hands on the remaining dry patches of his dress. “Ugh, the sooner we get out of here, the better. Can’t wait to change into my regular clothes”.

The sudden silence hit him, and he looked over at Tifa with dread building in his chest. “You did get my clothes, didn’t you?”

Neither Tifa nor Seph spoke.

“Tifa. Please tell me I won’t have to try saving 7 while wearing a sewer-soaked dress”.

The desperation in his voice caused Tifa to crack a big smile. “I’m joking, they’re in my bag. Can’t guarantee they won’t be soaked too, though”.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Thank you, that was incredibly thoughtful of you”.

She shoved at him again. “Hey, look on the bright side; at least you were wearing a bikini”.

“... So Seph told you about that, did he”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My biggest wish is for Don Corneo to be utterly obliterated from existence...   
> Thank you for reading this far, I'll have another chapter for you next Monday morning (Europe time) ;);) <3<3


	6. Inside the Shinra Building

AVALANCHE had lost half its members. Cloud, Tifa and Barret had fought a somewhat eccentric redhaired Turk. Sector 7 had been crushed beneath the plate and countless people had died. Seph had been kidnapped by the Shinra. They had found out that Seph was born in a research laboratory and had lost his real mother - Ifalna - fifteen years ago, and that he was an Ancient. They’d befriended a big, well-mannered wolf-lion, been arrested in an elevator by two rather attractive Turks… Oh, and they’d spotted JENOVA’s headless body in a tank.

So much had happened during the last few hours that Cloud wasn’t surprised that he couldn’t sleep. The fact that he had given up the bed to Tifa and was sitting slumped against the wall didn’t help, either.

Tired of being locked up with no apparent way of escaping, Cloud leaned his head back against the wall. Or rather, he meant to, but instead ended up slamming the back of his head into the wall with an echoing and painful thunk.

 _“The fuck? Is someone dyin’ in there or what?”_ came a muffled voice from the other side.

Cloud stared at the wall for a moment while he cautiously rubbed at what would soon become an impressive bump. “Seph, is that you?” he called out.

_“No, this is Patrick, genius”._

“Alright, no need to be so snappy”, Cloud muttered.

It took a couple of seconds until Seph muttered back. _“I have a migraine”._ Well, that was as good an apology as anything.

Cloud considered his own aching head and sighed. “I feel you”.

They sat quietly for a while, Cloud gently massaging his temples, trying to ignore the pain in his head. He considered their situation and huffed to himself. “Some bodyguard I turned out to be”.

He hadn’t expected an answer, but he got one anyway.

_“Yeah, that date is hanging onto a fuckin’ fine ass line”._

Tifa’s head suddenly lifted from the pillow as she fixed Cloud with a knowing smirk. “A date?”

“I thought you were sleeping”, Cloud said sullenly.

Tifa shrugged and turned her eyes to the wall. “Hey, Seph, I have a question for you”. She took his silence as a go-ahead. “Does the Promised Land really exist?”

There was the sound of movement beyond the wall before Seph answered. _“I honestly have no idea”._

Tifa frowned. “The president said the Ancients are supposed to ‘guide humanity to the Promised Land’ or something. So shouldn’t you know the way there?”

Cloud got the distinct impression that Seph shrugged. _“That’s what they keep tellin’ me. Sayin’ I should ‘speak with the Planet’”._ There were more sounds of movement and then a thump as Seph sat down onto the bed. _“Problem is, I don’t know how”._

Cloud would’ve offered some advice, had he known the first thing about speaking with planets. But since he didn’t, he opted to stay quiet instead, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.

When he woke up, he did so with an uncanny feeling that something was terribly wrong. A quick look around the cell told him that Tifa was okay, and that the previously locked cell door was now very much not locked. After swallowing nervously, he inched his way to the door and peeked out into the corridor, needing only a quick look to confirm that yes, something was most definitely wrong.

“Tifa…” he whispered and backed towards the bed to shake her awake. “Tifa, there’s a dead guard in the hallway”.

~~

As far as Cloud was concerned, following a menacing trail of blood littered with dead bodies while expecting to find a headless being at the end of it was not on his list of things that are perfectly enjoyable after having just woken up. Finding out that President Shinra was one of the dead bodies wasn’t even such a big deal, all things considered. That is, until they noted the nature of his wounds.

Tifa gave Cloud a look and he nodded. Magic, and incredibly strong magic at that. So strong, in fact, that Cloud knew only one person who could have cast it.

“Aerith”.

Off to the side, Seph seemed to tense at the name, clenching his jaw and glaring at a fixed point in space.

Barret scratched at his hair and stomped impatiently. “Who cares who did it! It’s the end of the Shinra anyway!”

At that moment, a short man came running towards them, obviously aiming to escape through the door. Cloud and Barret managed to grab hold of him, and the man squeaked.

“P-p-please, don’t kill me!”

Cloud recognised the man. He’d been at the meeting with President Shinra. Palmer? Was that his name? Cloud didn’t care much, and was honestly not in the mood for more whiny little men after yesterday, which may have been why he sounded especially hostile when he spoke. “What happened here?”

Palmer swallowed thickly. “Aerith… Aerith, she…” He trailed off, his eyes flitting back and forth nervously.

Cloud tightened his grip on Palmer’s collar. “Are you sure? Did you see her?”

Palmer nodded frantically. “I did, I did! I saw her with my own eyes!”

Cloud must have looked unimpressed, because Palmer swallowed again. “It’s true! I heard her voice, too! Something about not letting us have the Promised Land”.

Tifa walked over to join them. “So, does that mean the Promised Land really exists? And does _that_ mean that Aerith’s trying to save it from the Shinra?”

Barret furrowed his impressive eyebrows. “So, does that make her a good guy?”

Cloud shook his head vigorously. “No way! She can’t be good, and it can’t be that simple! I know her, and I know for a fact that she’s up to something!”

The muted sound of a helicopter made everyone turn to the window, and Barret cursed.

“Rufus! Fuck, I forgot all about him! … He’s the Vice President, the President’s son”, he explained almost calmly when Tifa and Cloud looked at him in confusion.

They saw a short man running towards the helicopter on the launchpad outside, and Cloud realised that they had let go of Palmer. Cursing his own unprofessionalism, Cloud rushed out onto the launch pad, followed by the others, and found himself standing in front of Vice President Rufus.

Rufus had his arms crossed, a look of contemplation on his face. “So, Aerith was really here then… Oh, by the way…” He focused his gaze onto Cloud and the others. “... Who are you guys?”

Cloud straightened his back. “Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class”.

“I’m from AVALANCHE!” Barret roared, and Tifa added a ‘Same here!’.

Seph threw his braid over his shoulder. “A flower boy from the slums”, he delivered with the air of someone who had just announced they were royalty.

Red XIII took a second to answer. “… A research specimen”.

Rufus regarded them all before laughing. “What a crew”. He snickered again and swept his hand through his bangs. “Well, I’m Rufus, President of Shinra, Inc.”

“Yeah, you’re president ‘cause your old man died!” Barret raised a fist at Rufus, who shrugged.

“It be like that sometimes”. He huffed a laugh and started pacing in front of them. “I say good riddance. Trying to control the world with money, making people think that Shinra will protect them…” He shook his head. “He had the wrong idea from the start. I, however, do things differently. I’ll control the world with fear! No need to waste money on the common people”.

Tifa crossed her arms and cocked her hip to one side. “Considering that you seem to dislike your dear daddy so much, you sure sound a lot like him once you get started”.

That comment put an affronted look on Rufus’s face, and he took a step toward Tifa, obviously preparing for a long and heated “discussion”.

“ _I think_ ”, Cloud spoke loudly to interrupt whatever argument was brewing between them, “that you should all get Seph out of here”.

“Oh, you remember me, then”, Seph mocked.

“And what about you?” Tifa gave Cloud a disapproving look, obviously already knowing what the answer would be.

“I’ll stay here and buy you time”, he confirmed, and Tifa sighed. “I’ll be fine, just get out of here”.

Tifa looked about to argue but thought better of it. She uncrossed her arms and then crossed then again. “Okay, fine. But don’t blame me when you get the shit kicked outta you”.

~~

Cloud gave the motorcycle one last pat. He really should get one of his own someday. And maybe a driver’s license, too, while he was at it. Though he’d prefer it if he could ride _his_ motorcycle in peace, without having to try and take down Shinra thugs while protecting a car full of people. This truly had been an eventful day.

Barret’s voice easily carried across the empty road and brought Cloud out of his musings. “Well, now that’s over with, what do we do now?”

Cloud leaned back against the bike, looking up at the stars for the first time in what felt like forever. “Aerith is still alive… And since that’s the case, I have to find her. I have to settle the score”.

Barret crossed his arms and regarded him for a moment. “And that’ll save the Planet?”

Cloud thought back to all the things they’d found out about during the last day. Seph, the Ancients, Aerith, the Promised Land… He shrugged. “... Seems like it”.

Barret nodded thoughtfully before grinning widely and landing what was probably meant to be a friendly punch on Cloud’s shoulder. “Awright, then I’m coming with ya!”

Cloud heard steps behind him and turned to see Seph cautiously walking past them, toward the literal end of the road. “I’ll come too. There are… some things I want to find out”.

Cloud watched as Seph tipped his head back to look at the fading stars as dawn began to break. “About the Ancients?”

Seph crossed his arms, eyes still turned to the sky. “... Among other things, yeah”.

Behind them, Tifa sighed and, in a voice so low it was hardly audible, she said what everyone was thinking. “So, I guess this is goodbye, then, Midgar”.


	7. Questions and Answers

When Cloud walked into their room at the inn in Kalm, the others were already waiting for him. Tifa and Red XIII were talking to each other, Barret was pacing around, and Seph was alternating between toweling and brushing his wet hair.

Barret stopped in his tracks once he spotted Cloud. “Finally!” He immediately sat down in a chair by the wall, leaning forward and clasping his hands between his knees. “Let’s hear your story, Cloud. You seem to know a whole deal about Aerith and whatever's goin' on with the planet. So, let’s hear it all”.

Cloud sighed and nodded. It was inevitable that he would have to tell them if they were to travel together. He really didn’t want to relive those memories, but they’d never stop pestering him if he didn’t. Well, better start at the beginning, then. “I always looked up to Aerith. I wanted to be like her, that’s why I joined SOLDIER”.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seph roll his eyes and tug his brush forcefully through a tangled patch in his hair.

“After working with Aerith on several missions”, Cloud continued, “we became friends”. He broke off and thought about his wording. “Or… maybe not ‘friends’, exactly. It’s not like we actually hung out together, and she hardly ever talked about herself”. He shrugged. “I guess you could say we were war buddies... We trusted each other. Until one day...”

Cloud didn’t even realise that he had trailed off until Tifa spoke up.

“... One day?”

Cloud scratched at his head and started pacing. “It was five years ago. I was 16...” He took a deep breath and let himself think back.

“I was really excited about the mission. That’s what I was like, back then. Eager to prove I was just as much of a hero as Aerith was. Aerith told me it was no ordinary mission and that I should settle down, but that just made me even more excited”. He broke off with a melancholy smile before continuing. “Anyways, our mission was to investigate the old Mako reactor in Nibelheim. It had been acting up; malfunctioning and creating monsters. One of those monsters attacked the van - a huge dragon-like creature. I could barely scratch it, but Aerith took it down in two hits.” Cloud shuddered, feeling his old admiration blossom at the memory. “Aerith’s strength is unreal. She’s far stronger in reality than any story you might’ve heard”.

Seph tugged violently on his hairbrush. It seemed stuck in the tangles. “That so? Then where do you come in?” he muttered in a grouchy voice.

Cloud shook his head. “Me? I was just mesmerized by how Aerith fought…” He heaved a heavy sigh. “And then we reached Nibelheim. Aerith asked me what it felt like; coming home after such a long time. She said she didn’t have a hometown, so she was curious. Apparently, her mom, Jenova, died right after she was born. She didn’t say anything about a dad”.

“Wait a sec”, Barret cut in. “Wasn’t JENOVA the name of that thing in the Shinra Building?”

Tifa sighed. “Can we please listen to the whole thing without interruptions first and ask questions later?”

Barret sank further back into his chair. “Sorry...“

“Anyways”, Cloud continued his story, “the town was quiet. I just assumed people were afraid of the monsters. Later on, I started wondering if they were really afraid of us...” He thought back. What had happened next? He’d visited his mom, but that wasn’t really important. He’d tried visiting Tifa too, but he decided to leave out that too… especially the part about rooting around in Tifa’s room - for his own wellbeing. Better to just skip ahead.

“The next morning, we met up with Tifa, our guide, and the three of us took a photo together before going up the mountains. We found a Mako fountain in one of the caves, with naturally formed Materia. Aerith told us that Materia holds the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients, and that this is what allows people to use magic through using Materia”. Cloud almost wanted to huff at his 16-year-old self. At how he’d treat everything Aerith said like the ultimate wisdom. At how he’d been so blinded by admiration that he’d never seen _that_ coming. He shook those thoughts out of his head. He just wanted to get this part over with as soon as possible.

“When we reached the Reactor, Tifa and an infantryman stayed outside. Inside the reactor there was a room with a bunch of pods and a locked door labelled ‘JENOVA’. Aerith said that the pods were meant to freeze and condense Mako energy. Usually, that’s how you make Materia. But the things inside those pods…” Cloud almost shuddered at the memory. “Normal SOLDIERs like me are showered with Mako. That’s what Aerith said. But the things... the _people_ inside the pods were subjected to so much Mako that they started mutating... into monsters”. He furrowed his brow, trying to recall all the details. “Aerith suddenly started muttering to herself. Something about not being “normal”, and then something about being “created”, I think. Then - and I remember this clear as day - she turned and looked at me, and she looked so scared. And then she asked me: “Am I... even human?””

Silence fell as they all let the story sink in.

The silence was broken by Barret, who stood up from his chair and clenched his fist. “Damn Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate ‘em!”

Tifa kicked her feet against the bedframe. “Who would’ve thought the reactor held a secret like that”.

“That would explain the increased number of monsters these last few years”, Red XIII said, looking thoughtful as he lied down on the floor, resting his head on his paws. Then he looked up at Cloud. “There’s still more to the story, though, isn’t there?”

Cloud nodded solemnly. “We went back to Nibelheim after that, and Aerith locked herself in the inn. She didn’t talk to anyone, not even me...” He trailed off again, and Tifa spoke up, seemingly to help him along.

“And then she just disappeared, right?”

“... Yeah”. Cloud took a deep breath. “I found her in a secret basement in Shinra Mansion. She seemed really worked up, and there were open books everywhere. She was taking notes, and mumbling. Something about a really old dead organism they’d named JENOVA, and which was an Ancient. And then...” He wracked his brain, trying to remember. “... Something about a ‘Project JENOVA’ and a Mako Reactor”.

Barret looked about to intervene, so Cloud held up a hand to stop him. He just wanted this all to be over quickly. “Aerith figured it was too much of a coincidence that her mother and the Ancient would just share the same name. That look on her face... I don’t even know how to describe it, or what she must’ve been feeling at that moment. I tried to talk to her, but she wanted to be left alone, so I left... She didn’t leave the mansion for days. She just stayed there, reading. Then, when I went down there again to check on her, she...” Cloud swallowed. This was one memory that he would gladly do without.

“She called me a traitor. And she looked so sad. She said something about the planet belonging to the Cetra, and that the Cetra would travel to the Promised Land and find supreme happiness. She said that the humans stole what the Cetra made, and then she talked about some sort of disaster striking the planet long ago, wiping out the Cetra but not the humans. It all sounded like a fairytale to me, but she seemed to honestly believe every word of it”.

“I don’t get it”, Barret interjected, looking royally confused. “How’s all this connected to Aerith?”

Cloud nodded at him. “Aerith told me that the goals of Project JENOVA was to produce people with the powers of the Cetra”. He swallowed against the sudden dryness of his throat. “Aerith was the person that was produced”.

There was an audible gasp as everyone in the room seemed to draw breath at the exact same time, but no one spoke.

“Then”, Cloud continued, “she said she was going to see her mother, and she walked off. I hurried after her...” He swallowed again and almost gasped for breath. The air suddenly seemed so dry, and hot. Just like back then... “... I was too late. The whole village was on fire. And I saw her - Aerith - through the flames. And she still looked so incredibly sad...”

Tifa nodded somberly. “I saw her too, and I followed her to the reactor. Papa was following her too”. As she spoke, her voice grew thicker and thicker. “He got there first. And when I got there she’d already-” She broke off abruptly to collect herself. “She’d already killed him. So I followed her into the room with the pods. I figured if nothing else, I could at least give her a good ol’ fashioned punch. She was talking to the thing behind the door, so I thought I’d sneak up on her while she was distracted. Only, she heard me, and she did something - magic, I guess - that knocked me back down the stairs.”.

“That’s when I arrived”. Cloud rubbed at his forehead. The memory suddenly seemed... hazy. “I went after Aerith into the JENOVA chamber, and...” He scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “... That’s the last thing I remember”.

Red XIII lifted his head from his paws. “So, what happened to Aerith?”

Cloud sighed. “Who knows. I just know I couldn't have killed her, not at my skill level”.

Tifa frowned. “But Aerith’s dead. It’s in the official records, I read it in the newspaper”.

Seph, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly spoke up. “The Shinra owns the paper, you can’t trust any of it. Everyone knows that”, he said, voice dripping with contempt. Somehow, Cloud wasn’t sure that it was really directed at Tifa.

“Anyway”, Cloud said and scratched his head, “I want to know the truth. I want to know what happened back then, and why Aerith didn’t kill me”.

Barret made a frustrated noise. “That’s fine and all, but there’s just so much about this that don’t make sense! What about JENOVA? What was it doing in the Shinra Building?”

Cloud shrugged. “The Shinra must’ve shipped it to Midgar for safekeeping”.

“I think”, said Red XIII, “that the real question is how it got _out_ of the Shinra Building”.

Tifa hummed as she leaned back onto her hands. “Do you think Aerith carried it out of there?”

Barret groaned and walked towards the stairs. “Well, whoever it was, I’m leaving the thinkin’ to you guys. Don’t hurt yourselves!” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared downstairs.

A short silence followed before Tifa glanced up at Cloud. “Hey, Cloud… How badly hurt was I? When Aerith…” She didn’t need to finish her sentence.

Cloud shook his head. “I thought you were a goner...” He glanced at her and then looked down at the floor, wishing away the picture of his childhood crush lying lifeless on the floor. “... I was really sad”.

Tifa stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, let’s not keep Barret waiting”.

While Tifa, Cloud and Red XIII walked downstairs, Seph remained seated on the bed. He sighed deeply and lied down on his back, dangling his feet over the edge.

“Ancients, Cetra, JENOVA, Aerith... and me...” He pulled at a silver chain around his neck, fishing out the little white orb that was fastened to it. He dragged a thumb along the crack that ran halfway up one side and sighed again. “How much did you know about all this, mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got kind of exposition heavy, but it'll be one of very few exposition dumps, so hopefully you'll all survive x] Thank you for staying with me this far <3<3<3


	8. Chocobos and Finger Snaps

Cloud had been watching Seph since they left Midgar. Watched him fight, that is. And he had to admit that he’d also tried to keep an eye on him, since Seph was the one with the least fighting experience in the group - and the one who had the least reliable weapon. A spiked bat might do it down in the slums, but out in the open it would quickly become a liability for the whole team. This was the reason why Cloud picked up a new sword in Kalm, to lend it to Seph. Of course, it was just as dangerous to give someone a weapon they couldn’t handle as it was to leave them without a weapon. Which was why Cloud sat down next to Seph when the time came to make camp.

“Hey”.

Seph turned his green cat eyes to look at him and raised an eyebrow. “Hey?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if you…” Cloud swallowed. His throat suddenly felt dry. “- if you have any experience or knowledge of swordsmanship”.

Seph looked utterly confused for a moment. And then he broke into laughter. “Okay, not what I was expecting”, he snorted as the laughter subsided, “but no, not really. Why d’you ask?”

“I saw you fighting”, Cloud explained, “and I think you have potential. You seem to have some of the most basic stuff down, but you only show it randomly and instead rely more on brute force”.

Seph laughed and stretched. “What can I say, I’m a city boy at heart”.

Cloud shook his head. “I’m serious. With training and discipline to build up a good foundation, you could become a great swordsman”.

“And you’d do that?” Seph looked at Cloud with an amused glint in his eye. “Train me?”

“I would”, Cloud confirmed. “Just, one more thing”. Seph’s intrigued look told him to continue. “As I said, you clearly know some basic stuff. Who taught you?”

For not even half a second, something warm and soft flitted across Seph’s face, before his expression darkened with suppressed rage and he clenched his fist tightly around the hilt of his baseball bat. He looked, quite frankly, terrifying.

“Ah”, Cloud said, trying to convince his voice not to waver, “it was your… ex, right?”

Seph glared into his eyes. “How d’you figure?”

Cloud tried his best at a disarming smile. “Lucky guess?”

~~

Cloud had bruises on every conceivable part of his body and then some, stains from mud and greenery on his knees and hands, and something that tasted an awful lot like grass stuck between his teeth. His only consolation in this sorry situation was that he was finally sitting triumphantly astride a chocobo while the others were still struggling to catch theirs.

“Hey, Spike!” Barret called, having stopped to catch his breath. “These things are impossible to catch, how’d you do it?”

“Yes, please, Cloud, do share with the rest of the group”, Seph shouted in a strained voice while he struggled frantically in a tug of war with a chocobo over the greens he was holding.

“You distract them with the greens and climb up”, Cloud called back, aware that he was making it sound much more simple than it actually was.

Cloud swore he could hear Seph roll his eyes.

“That’s _incredibly_ informative”. Seph yelped as the chocobo tugged harder at the greens, dragging him along the ground. “And _that’s rude!_ ” he grunted and tugged harder himself, causing the chocobo to squawk and let go of the greens. It cackled delightedly as Seph lost his balance and landed on his arse with a thud and an annoyed groan.

Cloud looked in the other direction - mostly to hide his smile - and saw several chocobos sprinting in a tight formation further along on the fields, seemingly fleeing from a running person. His smile widened. He’d wondered where Tifa had disappeared off to.

A groan of exertion and a rushed 'nononono!’ made Cloud turn toward Seph once more to witness him holding onto a chocobo’s neck and being towed along as it trotted away.

Cloud surveyed the scene. Tifa was sprinting like a madman, Seph was being dragged off toward the horizon, Red XIII was watching them from a safe distance, and Barret was sitting cross-legged on the grass, looking like he was trying to ascend to a higher plane of existence. It was an incredibly amusing sight, but Cloud had to admit that they couldn’t stay like that forever - which they probably would unless something was done.

He sighed and called out. “Hey, Barret! Come over here, I’ve an idea”.

This idea entailed that Barret managed to get up onto Cloud’s chocobo while Cloud was still sitting on it, which turned out not to be as easy as Cloud had hoped. After a lot of grunting and cursing, however, they finally managed it, and Cloud could hop off the chocobo without risking it running off. Now, time to repeat the process…

It didn’t actually take too long before Cloud had secured a chocobo each for Seph, Tifa and himself and they could start trotting toward the marshes.

“You didn’t have to catch me one”, Tifa muttered sullenly. “I had a plan. I was wearing them down”.

Cloud nodded. “I believe you, but I’d rather we got there before dark”.

Barret laughed. “Well, we’re lucky they seem to like you, Spike. What’s your secret?”

Seph snorted a laugh. “I think it’s the hair. They probably think he’s one of them”.

Barret guffawed loud enough to make his chocobo veer at the volume. “I can get behind that theory”.

Cloud smiled and halted his chocobo, raising a hand to make the others do the same. They’d reached the edge on the marshes. He quickly surveyed the area, seeing no signs of the Zolom they’d been warned about. “Okay”, he announced to the group, “I can’t see the Zolom, but we’d better be careful. I say let’s sprint straight across and try to stick together”.

That tactic saw them safely across the marshes and all the way to the mouth of the Mythril Mines, still with no sign of the Zolom. They got off their chocobos, who immediately sprinted off, and Cloud walked forward to enter the cave.

“Hey, quick question”.

Cloud turned back to Seph, whose eyes were glued to the mountain. “What?”

“It’s just, is that supposed to be like that?”

Cloud and the others followed Seph’s line of sight to the part of the mountain closest to them, which seemed orange and glimmering in the light of the setting sun. Only, on closer inspection, it didn’t really look like part of the mountain at all. And… was there something inside it?

Barret let out a low whistle. “Well, guess we finally found the Zolom”.

“It’s… frozen”, Tifa observed, sounding flabbergasted.

Cloud nodded. The sheer amount of ice made it abundantly clear who was the reason behind it. “Aerith was here”.

Silence fell as they regarded the frozen monster. That is, until Seph spoke up.

“Wait a sec. Does this mean we did all this for nothing!?”

~~

“Are we there yet?”

Cloud rolled his eyes at Seph’s incessant whining. “We’re three minutes closer to being there than when you asked last time. It’s a big cave, okay? Now please, stop whining”.

“Yes, please stop whining, Seph”.

All of them froze instantaneously. That voice…

They turned toward the source of the voice and saw a bald man in a black suit suddenly standing in front of them.

“... Hey, you’re that guy from the elevator!” Barret shouted and pointed accusingly at the man.

Everyone else nodded grimly except for Seph, who looked slightly confused. “I feel like I missed out on something”.

“Not much”. Tifa scowled and adopted her fighting stance. “He’s one of the Turks who arrested us”, she explained and Seph made a small sound of understanding.

The Turk adjusted his dark shades. “Well, since you know about the Turks, this won’t take too long”.

“Yeah we know; you stalk and kidnap people”, Seph snarled, irritation clear in his voice.

“... You could say that, if you want to put it negatively”, the Turk conceded with a small nod.

“But that’s not all there is to the Turks!” Another voice boomed across the cavern and everyone turned their heads upwards to see a young woman balancing on a ledge almost at ceiling height. “Rude, sir! I know you don’t like making speeches, so I’ll explain in your stead!” she shouted excitedly. Before the other Turk - who was called Rude, apparently - could agree or disagree, she continued. “I’m Elena, the newest member of the Turks! I got promoted just recently because of a staff shortage after what you guys did to Reno at the support pillar of Sector 7”.

“... Congratulations”, Tifa said, but it sounded more like a question.

“Thank you!” Elena practically beamed at her and straightened her back proudly. “Anyways, we’re here to find out where Aerith is going and to follow her, while also stopping you guys from following her!”

A sigh carried through the cavern, along with a level, dispassionate voice. “Elena, you talk too much”.

Elena’s eyes snapped forward and her jaw dropped. “Mr. Tseng!? I thought you were supposed to be-”

“ _Thank you_ , Elena”, Tseng interrupted her as he stepped forward onto a ledge above Rude, letting the others regard him in all his stern-looking glory. “There’s no need to tell them about our orders”.

Elena hung her head. “Sorry, Mr. Tseng…” she muttered.

Beside Cloud, Barret gasped violently. “That’s the one who kidnapped Seph! The helicopter, remember?”

Cloud squinted in the dim light and realised that Barret was right. “Yeah, he’s also the other Turk from the elevator”.

Tseng disregarded them and continued addressing Elena. “I thought I gave you other orders. Now get to it, and don’t forget to file your report”.

“Okay- I mean, yes sir!” Elena straightened her back again and saluted. “Very well, sir! Rude and I will go after Aerith to Junon Harbor!”

Tseng’s sigh was a suffering one. “... Elena. You don’t seem to understand”.

Elena looked at him in confusion before realisation dawned on her. “Oh… I’m… I’m sorry!”

Tseng pinched the bridge of his nose. “... Just don’t let Aerith get away”.

Both Elena and Rude saluted. “Yes, sir!” they exclaimed and Elena turned and disappeared.

Rude, however, looked over at Cloud and the others. “... Reno said he wants to see you after his injuries have healed. He wants to show you all his new weapon”.

Before anyone could respond to this obvious threat, Seph snorted. “I don’t think he’ll have anything I haven’t seen before”.

Rude’s composure faltered at that as he stifled a chortle behind his hand before adjusting his shades and marching off.

Tseng watched him go and then turned to look directly at Seph. “Well then. Long time no see, Seph”.

Seph crossed his arms and scowled back at him, his lips a thin line of dislike.

Tseng continued, unbothered. “Looks like you’ve managed to evade the Shinra for a while, now that Aerith has reappeared”.

Seph bared his teeth and all but growled. “So you’re sayin’ I should be _thankin’_ her?”

“I’m not saying anything of the sort”, Tseng replied calmly. Then he gave Seph a once-over. “Well, I won’t be seeing too much of you in the near future, so take care”.

That comment made Seph mellow down and he seemed to study Tseng carefully, suspiciously. “... Strange, hearin’ that from you”.

Tseng shrugged. “I’ve never born you any ill will, and you know that”. He looked away from Seph to let his eyes sweep over the others. “Well then, stay out of Shinra’s way, all of you”. With that, he turned and disappeared, leaving the party to process what had just happened.

“You know that guy, Seph?” Barret finally asked.

Seph nodded. “Yeah, and I don’t enjoy it”.

Tifa let out a low whistle. “Wow, that’s some heavy baggage you two got there. He your ex or something?”

In that moment, Cloud could feel his soul leaving his body to seek refuge in another plane of existence. From Cloud’s experiences, speaking this openly to Seph about his ex would surely entail the literal end of the world.

Seph opened his mouth, and Cloud was certain that armageddon was about to come down on them. Surprisingly, it didn’t, and instead, Seph shrugged and answered with a murmur. “My ‘or something’. That’s what he is”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have a silly intermission chapter to make up for last week's exposition dump *fingersnap*


	9. A New Acquaintance

“I don’t get why we couldn’t just go around”, Barret huffed as he squeezed himself between two trees.

Tifa sighed. “First Seph and now you? Don’t you two do anything other than complain?”

“I wouldn’t be complaining if we’d walked around like I wanted”, Seph muttered as he stopped to disentangle his hair from a particularly persistent branch.

“We’ve told you the forest is too big”, Tifa explained calmly, but Cloud could tell that her patience was growing thin. “Going around would just mean wasting time and resources”.

Seph finally freed himself from the branch and opened his mouth to protest, when all of a sudden there was a whooshing sound and the small clearing they’d just entered filled with smoke.

Cloud was about to drop to the ground when he realised that the smoke didn’t smell toxic or dangerous in any way. In fact, it smelled faintly of… _bubble gum?_

A whoop echoed across the clearing, followed by a voice. “One, avoid unnecessary training!”

Tifa glanced at Cloud and he shrugged.

“Two”, the voice continued, “protect Wutai at all costs!”

“Hey, isn’t Wutai-” Barret started, but was interrupted by the voice.

“Three, anyone who trespasses in my forest… must be _punished!_ ” There was the sound of a tree branch creaking, followed by a thud on the ground and a whispered ‘ouchie’, before a figure emerged from the smoke. “I’m Wutai’s greatest warrior! If you wanna go further, you have to go through me!”

Everyone stared silently at the girl standing proudly in front of them, clutching a shuriken that seemed way too big for her. When no one moved for what seemed like an eternity, the girl began to nervously shuffle her feet and change her grip on the shuriken.

“I- I’m warning you!” she exclaimed. “If you insist on going any further, you’ll have a fight on your hands!”

Cloud shook his head. “We’re not fighting you, and we don’t have time for this”. He walked forward, aiming to walk past the girl, but she blocked his path and twirled her shuriken at him menacingly.

“I’m tellin’ you, you’re not getting past without defeating me! I demand a battle!”

“Okay, then”. Suddenly, Barret was standing beside Cloud, all imposing muscle and height. Cloud could’ve sworn he saw the girl begin to sweat nervously. Wait, Barret wasn’t going to _actually_ fight her, was he!?

While Cloud deliberated with himself over whether he should intervene or not, Barret crouched down and extended his left hand in a fist toward the girl.

“Let’s settle this”.

The girl regarded him with interest and, having seemingly deemed him a worthy and suitably non-lethal opponent, finally extended her own fist and locked eyes with Barret.

In perfect synch, they both moved their hands rapidly up and down as they shouted words as ancient as time itself.

“ _ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!_ ”

For a split second, nobody moved.

Then, Barret and the girl looked down at their hands, and the girl fell back onto the grass with an anguished wail. “Noo, I lost!” She lied down on her back and held out her hand in front of her, regarding it with malcontent. “Man… I can’t believe this…” she sighed, before her eyes lit up with determination and she jumped onto her feet. “Hey, jerk face!” she shouted and pointed at Barret. “One more time! Let’s go one more time!”

Barret shook his head and Cloud started walking past the girl again, the others following behind him. “Not interested”.

The girl yelped and performed a series of honestly very impressive backflips to once again stand in front of Cloud, where she began punching the air for some unfathomable reason. “Thinkin’ of running away, huh? Stay and fight, you cowards! _Fight_ , I said!” She twirled her shuriken again and grinned tauntingly. “C’mon, what’s the matter? Are ya really that scared of me, huh!?”

“Oh yeah, we’re absolutely _petrified_ ”, came Seph’s voice from behind Cloud, dripping with sarcasm.

The girl, however, didn’t seem to pick up on the sarcasm. She placed the shuriken on her back and crossed her arms, a look of superiority on her face. “Hmm, just as I thought. Well, what do you expect, with my skills?” She giggled and did another pair of backflips, almost kicking Cloud in the face in the process. When she landed, she waved happily. “Well, my work here is done. Good luck to you guys!” Her face turned coy and secretive. “If you feel up to it, we can go another round sometime. Later!” She turned and ran a couple of steps before stopping and looking over her shoulder. “I’m really gonna leave, you know! Really!”

Seph gave her a dismissive wave that looked more like a shooing motion. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead”.

“No, wait a second!”

Everyone turned towards Tifa in confusion.

“ _Tifa, what’re you doing?_ ” Cloud whispered to her and Tifa shrugged sheepishly and whispered back.

“ _Sorry, it’s just… We can’t just leave her in the woods like this, can we? I mean, she seems to be alone and Wutai is a long way from here…_ ”

“What is it? What’re you whispering about?” the girl asked excitedly. She hummed thoughtfully and then she lit up with a smile. “Oh, I know! You want my help because I’m so good! You want me to go with you!”

Cloud regarded Tifa’s expectant face and sighed, defeated. “Yeah. That’s right”.

The girl giggled and put her hands on her hips. “Thought so~ Well, you’ve really put me in a spot. What should I do?” She hummed again. “But if you want me that bad, I can’t refuse…” She nodded decidedly and smiled brightly. “All right, I’ll go with you!”

Cloud sighed and nodded. “… Then let’s hurry on”. He started walking again and the others followed, leaving the girl standing behind them in confusion.

“Huh? Hey… _Hey!_ Wait! I haven’t even told you my name!” She sprinted to catch up to them and then trotted along at the back. “I’m Yuffie! Good to meetcha! What’re your names? Where’re you going? Hey, Spikey, are you adventurers? Hey, wait up! Why’re you all walking so fast?”

Seph groaned irritatedly. “Just shut _up_ , you’re like, twelve”.

Yuffie huffed indignantly and puffed out her chest. “I’m _sixteen!_ ”

Seph rolled his eyes. “Even worse”.


	10. Murder on the Cargo Ship

Seph leaned his head back against a crate and groaned. “Ugh, why couldn’t I be a sailor? I’m sick of these Shinra grunts as it is without dressing as one. Also, this mask in uncomfy and the uniform’s like a sauna”.

Cloud tried his best not to sigh. “We already went over this. They know you, so you need to keep your face covered. That goes for all of us except Yuffie”.

“And Barret?” Seph moved his head towards Cloud. “Why doesn’t he have to cover his face?”

Cloud shrugged. “There weren’t any infantry uniforms in his size”.

Cloud got the impression that Seph rolled his eyes behind the mask. “Figures. All Shinra grunts I’ve known have been total twinks. No demand for huge uniforms, I guess”.

Cloud smiled. “Must cut fabric expenses”.

A retching sound made them look toward the corner and Cloud sighed. “Better go check on her”.

He walked over to the huddled over person in sailor garb in the far corner and squatted down beside her. “Hey, you okay?”

Yuffie turned her face away and groaned.  “Do I look like it?”

Cloud shrugged. “Not really”.

“This is why I hate ships”. She glanced up at him, eyes pained. “Have you ever been motion sick?”

“Don’t think so”.

“Figures”, she muttered and fought down another retch. “You wouldn’t have any Tranquilizers, would ya?”

Cloud nodded and fished one out of his backpack, extending it to Yuffie, who took it with a small smile and a weak 'thanks’ before she immediately downed the thing and made a disgusted face.

Cloud walked back to Seph, intent on sitting down again, when his feelings of obligation as the team leader suddenly kicked in. He really ought to check on the others. Sighing, he climbed the ladder to exit the ship’s hold.

Tifa was exactly where Cloud expected her to be: stood strategically on a sort of platform, acting as a lookout. She turned around when Cloud climbed up the ladder. “You all okay down there, soldier?”

Cloud shrugged and hoisted himself onto the platform. “Yuffie’s sick, otherwise we’re fine. Nothing odd going on”.

Tifa nodded. “Did you see Barret? I lost track of him a while ago”.

Cloud shook his head and Tifa sighed deeply.

“I hope he’s not doing anything stupid…”

Cloud snorted. “If I know him, he probably is”.

“True”, Tifa nodded and sighed again. “Could you go look for him? Keep him out of trouble”.

Cloud saluted her mockingly. “I’ll try my best, Commander”.

She laughed and shoved at him, and he descended the ladder to look for Barret. After all, Barret was by far the most liable to blow their cover…

Cloud halted his steps to take a closer look at an infantryman off to the side. The man was swaying and staggering, looking like he was utterly wasted and also attempting to boogie and salsa simultaneously. The man turned around, showcasing a brown and red tail, and Cloud closed his eyes and leaned his forehead in his palm.

“Hey… _hey_ ”, a hushed voice carried through the wind, and Cloud looked up at the infantryman, who was now facing him again. “It’s me. Red XIII”.

Cloud closed his eyes again. “I would’ve never guessed”.

“I’m a little woozy, but I shouldn’t get caught”, Red XIII continued. “Humans only look at appearances anyway”. He nodded confidently. “Yes. Anyway you look at it, I’d say I make a fine human being”.

Cloud nodded half-heartedly. “Totally. Hey, I’m looking for Barret. Just… come tell me if you see him”.

“Roger that”, Red XIII said and waved his front paw in what was probably meant to be either a salute or a wave. Or it could also have simply been an attempt at keeping his balance.

Cloud turned and kept walking, intent on finding Barret asap. He sighed. There were too many risks involved in this plan…

He finally found Barret crouched down and peeking in through the window to the bridge, not at all suspiciously.

Barret glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps and pointed at the window. “Cloud, look”.

Cloud, against his better judgement, crouched down beside him and peeked through the window. He immediately recognised the two people inside. “Rufus and Heidegger”.

Barret growled. “Shit… After what they did to Biggs, Wedge and Jessie… They’re this close and we can’t do a thing to ‘em!” He punched the wall of the bridge so suddenly that Cloud jumped and then he marched away from the window. “Fuck, I can’t take it anymore! I’m gonna settle things here and-”

He was interrupted by a blaring siren and a voice over the speakers.

“Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character seen on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found, do not engage! I repeat…”

Barret stared wildly around them. “Damn, did they find us!?”

Cloud heard running, but none of it seemed to be coming their way. “Doesn’t seem like it”.

Barret huffed a sigh before realisation dawned. “Hey… you don’t think it’s Tifa and the others, do you?”

Cloud’s silence said enough and Barret broke into a run.

“C’mon, Cloud! Get off your spiky ass and let’s go!”

~~

Cloud and Barret’s headlong sprint brought them to the centre of the deck, where they were joined by three infantrymen and one very short sailor.

“Everyone alright!?” Tifa shouted.

“You all alright!?” Barret shouted at the same time.

There was a brief pause as they all counted the number of people present, and then the infantrymen removed their masks, revealing the faces of Cloud, Tifa, Seph and Red XIII.

_Wait a sec…_

Tifa looked around. “Everyone’s here… right?”

Everyone nodded.

Yuffie threw her hands in the air. “So what’s this about a suspicious person, then? It’s clearly none of us”.

“Hey wait…” Barret said, looking at each of them in turn. “Y’all don’t think it’s…”

“... Aerith?” Tifa finished for him.

Cloud nodded slowly. “Could be”.

Red XIII’s tail snapped back and forth. “Then we ought to find out for sure”.

Yuffie waved her hands dismissively. “Count me out! I don’t even know who Aerith is! And besides-” She made a choked sound and rushed to the railing, leaning over it too far to be entirely safe.

Seph scowled at her, looking and sounding incredibly annoyed. “Yeah, good riddance. Best not to bring her useless a-”

“Seph!” Tifa interrupted him with an affronted face. “Don’t hurt her feelings”.

Seph crossed his arms and glared at her. “She’s loud and I have a migraine”.

Tifa in turn crossed her arms and fixed  Seph with a calm look. The way her biceps tightened betrayed her feelings, however. “She’s also several years younger than you, so be mature, please”.

Seph regarded her for a moment, sizing her up, and then looked down at his shoes. A wise choice, Cloud knew.

Tifa nodded at Seph’s surrender and then addressed the group. “Let’s go then. And be prepared”, she warned. “If it really is Aerith, then we’ll have a tough fight on our hands”.

 _… Aerith…_ Cloud shook his head, trying to clear all complicated thoughts. Better to leave the past alone for a while and focus on the present.

Below deck, the air was crackling with residual magic, making the hair on the back of Cloud’s neck stand. Lying scattered across the hold were several unmoving bodies, and Cloud was suddenly grateful that Yuffie didn’t have to see this.

There was only one door in this part of the hold, and an infantryman was lying in front of it, still alive and wheezing with each strained breath. When Cloud kneeled down beside her, she startled and tried to drag herself back, away from him.

“It’s okay”, Cloud said and held up his mask.

The woman studied him with wide, panicked eyes before deciding that he wasn’t dangerous. “Don’t-” She winced and gasped for air. “Don’t go in… the Engine Room…”

Cloud looked at the door. “The Engine Room? Is that where Aerith is?” He stood up and nodded at Tifa before positioning himself at the door. Followed by the others, he slowly opened the door and crept through it.

Behind them, the woman shook her head weakly. “No, please, listen… That thing’s not human…”

Inside the Engine Room, more bodies were lying strewn around the place. What looked like a Shinra commander was standing with their back to the door.

Cloud slowly inched forward into the room. “… Aerith?”

At the sound of his voice, the commander turned around. She took a couple of wobbly steps towards them and then abruptly fell forward. Before she had even hit the ground, the outline of her body started fading, and in a second she had seemingly blinked out of existence.

“... What the _fuck?_ ”

Seph’s comment pulled everyone out of their stupor and Cloud quickly grabbed his sword off his back. This was bad.

The room was suddenly filled with a voice that seemed to both whisper and roar at the same time, creating a booming hissing that made Red XIII curl up by the door and Seph clutch at his head.

“ _… AFTER A LONG SLEEP… THE TIME… HAS… COME…_ ”

Cloud almost toppled over as Barret shook his shoulder violently.

“Hey, look! Up there!”

They all followed Barret’s pointing finger and saw the ceiling shimmer and convulse like a liquid. While they watched, the surface of the liquified ceiling was broken and a pair of boots were gradually made visible, followed by a pair of leather clad legs. No one spoke - or breathed - as Aerith slowly descended from the ceiling, her hair billowing above her like it would underwater. She landed with a thump of heavy boots on metal, and her coat and her hair slowly floated down to once again obey the normal laws of physics.

Cloud couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. “Aerith! You’re… alive?”

Aerith didn’t respond at once, and instead let her piercing Mako green eyes sweep over all of them before stopping on Cloud. She leaned her head to the side. “… Who are you?”

For a second, Cloud forgot all about his respect for and apprehension toward Aerith. “You don’t remember me!? I’m Cloud!” he said, affronted.

Aerith pursed her lips and turned her eyes skyward. ”Cloud…”

Cloud found her distant attitude deeply unnerving. It was as though she wasn’t really aware of anything that was happening. “Aerith!” he exclaimed to try to recapture her attention. “What are you doing? What’s your plan?”

Aerith slowly turned her head from the ceiling to bore her eyes into Cloud’s. “… The time… is now…” she murmured.

Cloud had never been this confused in his life. He stepped forward, almost subconsciously. “What!? What are you saying? Be more…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Aerith suddenly lifted from the floor on a powerful gust of air, tilting her body and flying headfirst right into Cloud and the others, the force of the wind knocking them over before they could blink.

They all quickly scrambled to their feet, but Aerith was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the ceiling seemed to writhe and something dropped down from it. Something gelatinous that shifted in colour and spread out into a viscous puddle.

A ripple passed through the puddle, and another, and another, until the whole thing began to convulse and grow. They all looked on in horror as the puddle kept expanding and slowly formed into a huge, horrible creature, mutated beyond recognition.

Cloud readied his stance and Barret unlatched the safety on his gunarm with a click.

“Y’all better get ready, this looks like a tough one!”

~~

Cloud staggered back, but still kept himself between the rest of his group and the creature, which was letting out a piercing wail, like it was in pain.

The creature’s skin rippled before it began to shrink, still wailing as it seemingly melted down into nothing. When the wailing finally stopped, a single tentacle lay writhing weakly on the floor.

Seph - who Cloud had to commend on his improved swordsmanship - cautiously walked forward while rubbing at his temple. “This thing… I’ve seen this before…”

Cloud nodded and crouched down beside it. “It’s JENOVA’s arm”.

He could see Barret make a face in the corner of his eye.

“Not the prettiest thing to keep in your pocket, is it?”

The tentacle spasmed one last time and then flickered and disappeared, just like the Shinra Commander had done.

Cloud regarded the spot where it had lain. “So it _was_ Aerith who broke JENOVA out, then”. He sighed and stood up again and started walking toward the door. Nothing more to see here, anyway.

Seph stayed behind, still rubbing at his temples. “The time is now…”

“What does it mean?” Tifa wondered out loud and shifted her weight to one leg, crossing her arms in thought.

Barret groaned loudly. “I don't get _what_ the hell’s goin on here!”

Red XIII shook his head. ”None of us does”.

While they spoke, Cloud exited the Engine Room again. He needed to be alone and think.

_Aerith is really alive… So does that mean the Promised Land exists too?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came back from a con yesterday, stayed up till 5 am. to make a prototype for a new cosplay, and overslept my alarm by 4 h. I just wanted to note that fact for posterity. Thanks you for reading~! <3<3<3


	11. Hojo's Beacharre Adventure

The moment they stepped off the cargo ship, they were assaulted by a wall of stifling heat that made Cloud clear his throat and Tifa fan her face with a hand.

“Wow. Sure is hot down here!” she breathed and threw her hair over her shoulder. She swept her eyes over the group and frowned. “Where’s Yuffie and Red XIII?”

Cloud hummed and looked around, barely catching sight of Yuffie and Red XIII before they disappeared around a building, probably heading into town. He shrugged. “They’ll be fine”.

Barret stretched his arms over his head. “Yeah, they can take care o’ themselves”. He let his arms drop and rolled his shoulders with a pleased grin. “Feels good to finally get out of that sailor suit”.

Seph cocked his hip. “That’s too bad. It’s a cute look for you”, he said and winked.

Barret stared at him, incredulous. “ _Cute!?_ ” The sudden flush on his face, however, told everyone that he was actually flattered by the compliment.

“You could keep it. Use it for pajamas”, Tifa suggested, and threw Seph and Cloud a wink. “Right, boys?”

Seph nodded. “Yeah, you really do look great in it. Real huggable, in fact”.

His wording made Cloud think of the way the sailor suit had hugged Barret’s body perfectly, accentuating his bulk while also leaving some things to the imagination. And - most importantly - the little hat was adorable.

He nodded firmly and mimicked hugging himself. “Like a bear wearing a marshmallow”.

Barret frowned at them while his face grew redder. “The hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Seph shrugged and smiled sweetly. “Just think of it as the sincere compliment it is. I know many bears who can’t pull off the huggable part”. He winked at Barret again and Barret’s face looked about to combust from the heat.

Instead of throwing one of his usual mini tantrums, however, Barret lowered his head to stare at the ground. “... Shu’ up…” he muttered before lumbering off, eyes fixed securely on the ground.

Tifa smiled after him. “He acts tough, but he sure can be sweet sometimes”. Then she peered over at Seph and cocked an eyebrow. “So what’s with tossing him the sudden confidence boost? Any ulterior motives?”

Both of Seph’s eyebrows rose and he gave her an incredulous look. “Are you kiddin’ me? On a scale of ‘fuck yes’ to ‘never in a million years’, that guy lands slapbang in the DILF zone”.

That comment obviously caught Tifa by surprise and she gave a loud snort which quickly turned into full blown laughter. When she calmed down, she wiped away a tear and extended her hand to Seph.

“We might’ve got off on the wrong foot. Sorry I’m a bossy mother hen”.

Seph looked confused for a split second before he grinned and grabbed her hand. “Sorry I’m a whiny douchebag”.

Tifa grinned back and squeezed his hand before standing up straight and jabbing her thumb towards the town. “So, you guys wanna grab a drink?”

Seph made an interested face and Cloud groaned thankfully. “Thought you’d never ask”.

~~

The decor inside the bar was a bit tacky and touristy, but the atmosphere was nice with not too much noise. Tifa marched right up to the bar and sat down, and Cloud and Seph took a seat on either side of her.

The barmaid smiled at them. “Hiya”.

“Hi, we'll have three of whatever, please”, Tifa ordered for them while she pulled the hairband out of her hair and started to braid it.

Seph shot her a sceptical look as the barmaid began mixing their drinks. “You sure that’s how this stuff works?”

Tifa rolled her eyes. “Seph, I _run_ a bar. Trust me on this”.

She finished her braid just as three glasses were placed in front of them. Cloud reached for his glass and studied the pieces of fruit floating amongst the ice. Trusting Tifa’s judgement completely, he took a deep drag of sour fruity perfection.

Seph glanced at Cloud and Tifa before sipping his own drink, immediately perking up. “... Holy shit”.

Tifa laughed and nudged Seph's arm with her elbow. “Told ya so”. She winked at the barmaid, who winked back before moving to the side to take care of the three other customers at the bar, starting with the man sitting closest to Cloud.

“Lots of ice, please”, the man huffed and fanned his face with his hand. “I’m not good with hot places…”

The next man along hiccuped and murmured something, but the third man answered with a slightly too loud exclamation.

“You’re just not used to the heat yet!” He reached behind the man in the middle to thump the first man on the back. “Personally, I really like this town. You could probably walk around nearly naked, and no one’d look twice at you!”

Cloud tensed. He recognised that voice. Carefully, he turned his head enough to glance at the man furthest away. It only took a glimpse to confirm his suspicions and he snapped his eyes back forward, turning away to hide his face. He’d rather not be recognised himself, if he could help it.

Tifa, of course, noticed that something was off. “Something wrong?” she asked, with the best of intentions.

Apparently, that was all that was needed for the attention of everyone sitting at the bar to momentarily shift to Cloud.

“Wait a sec. I'd know that crazy ‘do anywhere. Bubby! Fancy meeting you here!”

Cloud winced, inwardly cursing his untamable excuse for hair, before he turned around and smiled politely.

“Hello, Mukki”.

~~

“I don’t get why you wanted to leave so badly, Cloud. Those guys were awesome!”

Tifa laughed when Cloud tried and failed to jab his elbow into her side.

“You wouldn’t be so eager if you knew how deeply traumatising last time was”.

Seph closed in on Cloud’s other side. “Then, by all means, Cloud, tell us”. He leaned down and adopted a confidential voice. “Exactly how  _deep_ was it?”

Tifa cackled and high-fived Seph, and Cloud let out a suffering sigh and kicked at the sand.

Out of nowhere, Tifa suddenly stopped and grabbed Cloud’s arm, almost pulling him off his feet in the process.

“Hey, what’re-”

She hushed him and pointed along the beach. “Look at that!”

Cloud squinted against the beaming sun and frowned. "At the women wearing bikinis?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Nice spotted, Legolas. Now, look behind them".

Cloud squinted even more and finally noticed the sun chair that the women were gathered around, and the familiar-looking man wearing sunglasses who was reclining in it. “Is that… Hojo?”

He heard muttering to his side and then Seph marched toward Hojo with long strides and a hard-set face.

Cloud glanced at Tifa and they both shrugged before hurrying after Seph.

Seph stopped in front of the sun chair and crossed his arms. “Hey, asshole, I wanna talk”.

Hojo waved a hand dismissively without turning his head. “I’m busy right now. Call my secretary if you want to book an appointment”.

By now, Cloud and Tifa had caught up with Seph, and they took their positions on either side of him and crossed their arms.

“After what you did to him”, said Tifa, “he ought to call a lawyer”.

Hojo scowled and finally turned toward them. He was silent for a few seconds before he slowly lowered his sunglasses to peer over the rim. “Ah, yes, I remember you all now…” He moved his gaze to Cloud without moving his head. “It’s been a long time, Cloud”.

Cloud glared back at him. “Why’re you here?”

Hojo shrugged and laid back down, readjusting his sunglasses. “You youths should learn that sometimes, you’ve just got to do something like this”.

Seph gave him a suspicious look. “Oh? And what exactly are you doing?”

Hojo stretched out in his chair and turned his face toward the sun. “That should be obvious. I’m getting a tan”.

“With your fuckin’ lab coat on?”

“Language, young man”, Hojo tutted.

This situation was really starting to get on Cloud’s nerves. “That can’t be the only reason you’re here. What’s your game?”

When Hojo stayed silent, Tifa tossed her braid over her shoulder and stepped forward. She slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand, her eyes flashing with malice. “Answer him”.

Hojo lowered his sunglasses again and regarded her silently for a while before speaking. “Consider me threatened”. He hummed and looked at Cloud. ”I believe that you and I are both after the same goal”.

“… You mean Aerith?” Cloud frowned.

Hojo’s lips twitched in a mockery of a smile. “I take it you’ve seen her, then”. Their mutual silence confirmed Hojo’s assumption. “I see…” he murmured and laughed. Cloud had always thought that no one other than mad scientists in those really horrible old horror movies laughed like that. Alas, he had now been proven wrong.

Tifa scowled at Hojo. “Why’re you laughing?”

Hojo waved dismissively. “Oh, no reason. I just remembered a certain hypothesis…”

Seph stepped forward to tower over Hojo. “What hypothesis?”

Hojo didn’t seem threatened in the least by Seph’s superior height. “And here we have the runaway halfbreed. Half Ancient, half utter stupidity, it seems. An oversight on my part, I admit”.

“The name’s Seph”, Seph growled. “The least you can do is remember it”.

“Speaking of Ancients”, Hojo continued, completely disregarding Seph’s comments, “I never had the time to ask about your mother. How is she?”

Seph glared hotly enough that Cloud was surprised Hojo didn’t erupt in flames. “She’s dead”.

Hojo sighed. “Now that is a shame. She was rather a valuable specimen”.

“She wasn’t some fuckin’ tropical butterfly, she was a _person!_ ” Seph shouted and grabbed the front of Hojo’s lab coat, forcefully pulling him upright in his chair. “Now, tell me! Are JENOVA and Aerith really Ancients? Am I the same as them?”

In spite of his current situation, Hojo smiled. “That’s all highly classified information, so I’m afraid that I cannot say”.

Cloud sighed and placed a hand on Seph’s shoulder. “Let him go, you won’t get anything out of him like this”.

Seph huffed and reluctantly let Hojo go, apparently unable to resist pushing him down into his chair again.

Hojo tutted again. “So misbehaved and corrupted. If only you had stayed with us…” he muttered. Then he looked up at Cloud with calculating eyes. “Cloud. Let me ask you a question, just out of pure scientific curiosity”. He continued without letting Cloud decline. “Have you ever had the feeling that you simply had to visit a particular place? Almost like something was calling you?”

Cloud frowned at him. What was he talking about? “I’ll go anywhere Aerith is at. To beat her and put an end to all this”.

Hojo placed his fingers on his chin with a thoughtful look. “I see… This could be interesting. Most interesting indeed”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that if you enter the inn in Costa del Sol, Barret will be in the bathroom, wearing his sailor suit and posing in the mirror? Honestly our most important discovery during a VII playthrough


	12. Finger Snaps and A Lot of Trees

Since last time Cloud had had the chance to sit down for a mental recap of this grand adventure, the party had befriended a toy cat in a Kirby mech, been thrown in prison, uncovered Barret’s tragic backstory, watched a man throw himself off a cliff, and had to rely on Cloud winning a chocobo race in order to get out of prison - all in under twenty-four hours. Through some unbelievable stroke of luck, Cloud had actually won the race, and the party were now sprawled out on the first patch of grass under the first group of trees they’d seen in what seemed like forever. That buggy they’d gotten was nice and all, but the air conditioner left some things to be desired. Especially when traversing a literal desert.

A sound coming from behind some bushes made Cloud tense and reach for his sword. He’d had quite enough narrow escapes for one day, thank you very much. Better to prepare for the worst.

Tifa caught on to the fact that something was wrong without Cloud having to tell her. She carefully shushed the others and pointed to Cloud, who jerked his head toward the source of the sound.

Now that it was quieter, he could hear the sound more clearly. A voice, and it was getting closer. Carefully, Cloud lied down on his stomach and crawled through the shrubs, his goal being to see without being seen. He rested his head on his arm and listened as the voice neared his location.

“So, I’d figured I’d lay off dating for a while after last time - you know what he was like, yeah? Total douche, now I think about it. Anyways, that was until I met The One. She’s totes into me, too, by the way. I should ask her out for coffee sometime, yo… Come to think of it, I should probs ask her name first, yeah? Yeah, I really should, shouldn’t I… Hey Rude, you got anyone you like right now?”

Cloud didn’t even need the visual confirmation to know that it was Reno and Rude who rounded the corner of the path, but he lay still anyway. He might get spotted if he moved, after all. And if he happened to unknowingly partake in some juicy gossip, then that was hardly his fault.

Rude turned his face away from Reno, a blush starting to form on his cheeks.

“Hey, what’re you getting so embarrassed about?” Reno skipped a couple of steps to block Rude’s way forward, bringing them both to a halt. “Come oooon, who is it? Who do you like?” he teased and nudged Rude’s arm with his shoulder. Wow, that really was a huge man, wasn’t it…

Rude’s blush intensified and he looked down at the ground. “… Tifa”.

Cloud hoped that his start wasn’t as visible as Reno’s, who practically jumped with the initial shock before regaining his composure. “Tifa, huh…” He hummed thoughtfully and scratched the back of his head. “That’s a tough one, yo”. Then he lowered his voice. “But, poor Elena. She… you…” He made a series of questionable gestures, and Rude watched him patiently before he shook his head.

“No, Elena likes Tseng”.

Reno started again and then looked thoughtful. “Huh. I never knew that”. His face twisted into a look of pity. “But then, Tseng likes that Ancient…”

Cloud decided that now was as good a time as any to crawl backwards out from his hiding place. He emerged from the bushes and turned around to see Elena having an animated but rather one-sided discussion with Seph and Tifa.

“Listen to those two! I mean, it’s just so stupid! They always go on and on about who they like or don’t like”. She huffed and then her voice took on a softer tone full of admiration. “But Tseng’s not like that at all. He’s different…”

She blinked as she saw Cloud still crouched down by the bushes, and she looked back at Tifa and Seph. A look of realisation dawned on her face. “Oh!” she exclaimed, and then looked around at the mixture of people and weapons surrounding her. “... Oh no”. Before anyone could stop her, she bolted along the path towards Reno and Rude, her arms flailing wildly. “They’re here! They’re really here!”

She disappeared behind the tall bushes that surrounded the path and reappeared a second or so later, flanked by Reno and Rude and looking almost cocky - like a kid bringing their older siblings to deal with bullies.

Reno twirled his weapon in his hand and hummed. “Then it’s time…” He glanced over at Rude. “Hey, Rude… don’t go easy on ‘em just ‘cause they’re girls, yeah?”

That made Yuffie, who had been sitting up to this point, do a backflip onto her feet and start throwing punches in the air. “Oh, so you think girls’re weak, do ya? That’ll be your downfall, I’ll take all three of ya down myself!”

Rude watched her with a small, amused smile. “Don't worry, I always do my job”.

Elena straightened her back, turned to Reno and Rude and saluted. “Then we’re counting on you two! I’ll report to Tseng!” she exclaimed and ran off.

Rude shook his head. “So much energy…”

Reno patted Rude on the back before smirking and swaggering toward Cloud. “Yo, it's been a while”. He cracked his knuckles and twirled his weapon again. “And now it's payback time for what you did in Sector 7”.

Cloud sighed heavily. This day had been too much already. “Out of our way”, he muttered. “I don’t feel like dealing with you two right now”. He started to walk past them, but Reno sidestepped to block his path.

“You’re not getting out of this one”. He glared. “I don't like being taken for a fool”.

Behind Cloud, Seph snickered. “You make it awfully easy, though”.

Rude grabbed Reno by the shoulder to stop him from rushing blindly at Seph and stood beside him to completely block the path. He readjusted his sunglasses and flexed his fingers. “Be that as it may, this is as far as you go”.

~~

Considering that Reno and Rude were outnumbered two to seven, the fight was surprisingly balanced, though they were obviously getting tired quickly. When Cloud and the others had finally gained the definitive upper hand, however, Reno and Rude simultaneously backed away from them.

Reno smirked. “We may be retreating, but we’re still victorious”, he gasped before he turned and sprinted into the woods with Rude following suit.

Barret watched them leave with a confused expression. “... Are those guys always like that?”

Seph shrugged. “Seems like it”.

Tifa crossed her arms. “More importantly: how’d they know we were here?”

“They must’ve followed us…” Cloud crossed his arms too. “But there weren’t any signs of it. So that means…”

Everyone nodded gravely at the implications of what he was saying. Everyone, except for Yuffie.

“So that means… that they’re really ninjas?” she added, clearly confounded.

Barret shook his head. “He means one of us is a spy”.

“ _Might be_ a spy”, Cloud corrected him. He looked at everyone’s faces and sighed. “But I don’t think it’s likely. I trust everyone here”.

Barret raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t trusting people risky for mercenaries?”

Tifa shook her head. “I think trust is always a good thing to have. Right, Cloud?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah, but we should get out of here before the Turks bring reinforcements”.

The others agreed and they began trudging along the path. After a while, they reached the edge of the forest and found themselves walking towards the remnants of some kind of huge structure.

“A ruined Reactor”, Cloud observed.

“I wonder if there was an accident…” Tifa mused and poked at a piece of debris with her foot.

“Wait!” Red XIII’s voice made everyone halt and turn around, watching as Red XIII’s ears turned and perked up. “There’s a helicopter coming this way”.

“The Shinra…” Barret frowned. “Then we better get the hell outta here”.

Cloud nodded. “Since there’s a Reactor, there’ll be a village nearby. Let’s head there”.

They set off at a rushed pace through the ruins and rubble while Red XIII gave them reports on how far away the helicopter was.

As they moved, Tifa moved up to Seph. “So… Tseng _likes_ you, huh?” she teased and jabbed at him with an elbow.

Seph scoffed. “I’m aware and uninterested. And no, I don’t want to talk about it”.

Tifa shrugged. “Oh well, I’ll get through to you sooner or later. One of these days, I’ll have you telling me all of your juicy little secrets~”.

Seph sighed. “Then I’ll just hope that day’s a long way away”.


	13. Coffee and Feelings

Gongaga was a quiet village, much like Nibelheim had been. Nice views, nice shops, nice people. It was all somewhat dimmed by the fear of being spotted by the Shinra, however. Thus, finding a good, inconspicuous hiding spot was a priority. Without knowing why, Cloud found himself drawn to a house on the far side of the village, but still not on the actual outskirts. A residential house, by the looks of it.

“Let’s try here”, he suggested. Since there were no protests, he knocked on the door and waited, but no one opened.

Barret sighed and shifted on his feet. “No one’s home, let’s try somewhere else, quick”.

For some reason, Cloud ignored Barret and instead tried the handle. Unlocked.

“Helicopter!” Red XIII exclaimed.

Well, there was nothing for it now. Cloud swung the door open, ushering everyone inside before hurrying inside himself and closing the door. He glanced out of the window, instantly calmed when nobody seemed to be following them, and moved his gaze to survey their hiding spot.

The first thing he noticed was an older couple sitting at a table and looking back at them with curious eyes.

“Oh. Ah. Um… Good day”. Cloud wracked his brain for an excuse as to why he had just barged into this exact house, uninvited, along with four other people, a wolf-lion and a stuffed cat. “The… uh… The helicopter…” He gestured vaguely toward the sky, feeling utterly foolish.

The woman, however, smiled warmly. “Sit down and have some coffee, dears”.

Barret stared at her. “... You’re not throwing us out?”

“Heavens no”, she laughed. “I’m sure you have your reasons to hide from the Shinra. Now, sit down and I’ll get some cups”.

Bewildered, Cloud, Seph, Tifa, Yuffie and Barret sat down at the table while Red XIII lay down on the carpet and Cait Sith parked his mech by the window.

“Do you drink coffee yet, little one?” the woman asked from the kitchen while she arranged an assortment of cups, saucers, biscuits, cakes and other essentials on a tray. “Or would you prefer juice?”

Yuffie puffed out her chest indignantly. “I’m sixteen, of course I drink coffee!”

“Right you are, dear”. The woman walked over to set the tray on the table and then proceeded to pour coffee for her guests. Then she poured some coffee onto two saucers, one of which she handed to the man. They each took a sugarcube, placed it between their front teeth and then sipped coffee from the saucers. Perfectly normal, in Cloud’s opinion. He knew many people in Nibelheim who had used to drink their coffee like that.

Barret’s and Yuffie’s scandalised faces, however, told him that it wasn’t common practice in all parts of the world.

“So, are you travellers?” the man asked conversationally, smiling slightly as Yuffie lapped at her coffee with the tip of her tongue, grimaced and added a handful of sugarcubes.

“Sort of”, Cloud admitted. What else could he say that wouldn’t mean retelling his whole life story?

The man nodded and sipped at his coffee. Then he looked more closely at Cloud. “Hey wait. That glare in your eye… You in SOLDIER?”

Cloud shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The woman put her saucer down and studied Cloud’s eyes. “Oh, you’re right!” Her voice suddenly took on a hopeful tone. “Then, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about our son?”

“His name is Zack”, the man added helpfully.

By his side, Cloud saw Seph visibly jump and tense at the name, almost spilling his coffee in the process.

The woman smiled sadly. “It’s been almost ten years since he left for the city, saying he didn’t want to live in the country anymore…”

The man nodded. “Last time we heard from him, he had made First Class. You ever hear of a Zack in SOLDIER?”

Cloud hummed, thinking back. He shrugged. “… I dont know”.

Cups clattered and coffee sloshed onto the tablecloth as Seph stood up from his chair. Without a word, he stalked over to throw the door open and then disappeared outside, letting the door fall shut behind him and leaving the others in stunned silence.

“... Oh dear…” the woman sighed. “He seemed quite upset, the poor soul”.

Tifa reached over to nudge Cloud’s shoulder. “You should go after him”.

Cloud nodded. Seph might want to be alone, but they were in too precarious a situation to split up like this. And besides, Seph obviously had a lot of baggage that he needed to get out of his system.

Cloud opened the door and immediately spotted Seph sitting on a railing just across the road. He cautiously walked up to him and stopped what felt like an appropriate distance away. From this angle, he could see that Seph was absent-mindedly looking at what was left of the Reactor while rolling a round pendant between his fingers.

“Hey…” he started softly. “Are you… okay?”

Seph’s head swiveled around and he glared at Cloud, his cat-like pupils like thin slivers and his eyes shiny with tears. “ _Do I_ look _like I’m okay?!_ ” he shouted, and Cloud moved back instinctively.

He must’ve looked incredibly frightened while doing so, because Seph’s glare softened and he averted his eyes, lowering his voice to a murmur. “Sorry… These migraines are makin’ me feel like shit…”

Slowly, Cloud walked closer again and placed his hands on the railing to lean against it. “It’s not just the migraines though… is it?”

Seph stayed quiet for so long that Cloud was almost certain that he wasn’t going to say anything at all. Then, at last, he sighed deeply. “I told you I had an ex who was in SOLDIER, right? I didn’t even know he was from Gongaga…” He swallowed to clear his voice. “His name’s Zack… SOLDIER First Class. Like you”.

Cloud hummed and leaned onto his elbows. “Strange. There aren’t that many who make First, but I’ve never heard of him”.

Seph gave a sad, nostalgic smile. “Trust me, if you’d met him, you’d’ve remembered him”. He shook his head and his smile faded. “He just… stopped visiting. Wouldn’t answer my calls either”. Seph frowned and fiddled with his pendant. “He always admired Aerith, said that’s why he wanted to join SOLDIER in the first place. He never shut up about her. So, when they both just vanished around the same time… I assumed he ditched me for her, and got really pissed. He was always so popular with everyone that I…” He gestured vaguely with his hand and then he sighed. “It made sense at the time. But I was just makin’ excuses…” He groaned and hid his face in his hands. “I’m such a dumbass. Something horrible might’ve happened to him and I-” His voice cracked and he hunched down as his shoulders began to quiver, almost whispering the rest of his sentence. “I just blamed him… for fuckin’ _years_ ”.

At a loss for what to say, Cloud placed a hand on Seph’s shoulder. “Hey, it's not your fault”. When Seph kept shaking, Cloud added, “If you want to, we can try to find out what happened to him”.

Seph sniffled and wiped at his eyes with his hands. “... Yeah”. He cleared his throat and then turned to Cloud with a half smile. “And next time we have some time off from adventuring, we’re goin’ on that date, ‘kay?

Cloud nodded, willing his oncoming blush not to become too apparent. “Sure! It’ll be fun”.

Seph turned back towards the Reactor, his smile growing more sincere. “I’ll hold ya to that”.

~~

When they finally returned to the house, the man was teaching the party a card game at the table. They all glanced over as the door opened, but quickly returned to their game, giving Seph the time and the space he needed.

Seph looked undecidedly at Cloud, who gave him an encouraging nod, and he walked across the room into the kitchen, stopping in front of the woman. He shifted his weight and kept his eyes on the floor. He reminded Cloud of a remorseful child. “Sorry about the tablecloth, Mrs. Fair”.

The woman smiled sweetly. “No need to worry, dear. And no need to be so formal either, we’re practically family after all”.

Seph’s eyes snapped up to stare at the woman’s face. “... Huh?”

She let out a short laugh. “Zack wrote to us six, seven years ago saying he had a ‘really pretty’ boyfriend, and you’ve had a strange look on your face since we mentioned his name”. She shrugged. “It’s not difficult to put two and two together”.

Seph’s eyes fixed on the floor again. “Ah”.

The woman threw a look out of the window. “It’s gotten rather late, hasn’t it. The monsters will be out and about soon…” She sighed. Then she lit up with a smile and turned to address everyone in the room. “You can stay here if you want. It’ll be no trouble at all”, she added firmly when everyone except Yuffie opened their mouth to protest.

Cloud looked at the others and resigned to their fate. “Alright. Thank you for having us”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the true identity of Seph's ex has been revealed ;) Thank you for reading this far, and stay tuned for next week's chapter. Love y'all~ <3


	14. Nibelheim and Two New Daddies

“I can’t believe it’s all really here”. Tifa’s voice echoed unnaturally loud through the dingy basement. “I was here when it burnt down, and now it’s exactly like it was before”.

Barret shot her a dubious look.  “You sayin’ those people in black capes are supposed to be here?”

Tifa shook her head.  “No, they’re new. As well as the people. I don’t recognise a soul, d’you, Cloud?”

Cloud shook his head. “Never seen 'em before in my life. Plus their dialect’s all weird”.

“Hey, check this out”, Seph called out from a bit further ahead. “This door’s locked”.

Cloud walked up to him, confused. “Weird. I don’t remember there being a locked door”. He tried the handle, which creaked and clunked, but the door didn’t budge.

“Four, a locked door is always worth investigating!”

Cloud and Seph took a startled step back when Yuffie suddenly cartwheeled over, coming to a halt right in front of them and grinning.

“Sounds like this is a job for the Great Ninja Yuffie!” She turned to the door, knelt down and peeked through the keyhole before she gave a satisfied nod. Cloud and Seph shared a look as she pulled out a set of lockpicks from her bag and went to work.

After an alarmingly short amount of time, Yuffie stood up and gestured to the door with a flourish. “And… tada~!” She pushed the door open and then immediately recoiled. “Wow, the air’s _stale_ in there!”

Cloud brushed past her and squinted in the sudden darkness. Behind him, Tifa produced a flashlight and swept it slowly over the floor and walls of the little room.

The only objects in the room were five coffins, four of them open and occupied by skeletons. Cloud saw Yuffie move to stand closer to Barret, only slightly too proud to actually grab onto him.

“Well, isn’t this cozy”. Seph rolled his eyes and walked over to the closed coffin. “You suppose there’s any loot in there?” he asked no one in particular and then tapped the coffin twice with his foot.

It was as if a ripple moved through the air, making the hairs on Cloud’s arms stand on edge. Then, a muffled voice filled the stunned silence.

_“... To wake me from the nightmare”._

With a scraping sound of protest, the lid of the coffin slid open and fell heavily onto the floor. And inside the coffin lay a man.

While they watched, the man stirred and slowly opened his eyes, which seemed to glow red in the dark room.

“ _Who’s that!?_ ” Yuffie whispered and poked her head out from behind Barret.

“ _How the heck should we know?_ ” Barret hissed back and prepared to unlatch the safety on his gunarm.

The man in the coffin blinked and sat up, his joints cracking with the movement. His eyes swept over all of them before they stopped on Cloud. When he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse. “... Never seen you before. You must leave”.

Cloud swallowed nervously. “You… were having a nightmare”.

The man huffed. “A nightmare?” He shook his head. “My long sleep has given me time to atone”.

Cloud swallowed again. “Atone… for what?”

The man’s eyes flashed a brighter red and his voice took on a harsh tone. “I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out”. Then he added in a murmur, “This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare”.

Cloud lowered his eyes. “You can say that again”.

The man tilted his head to the side. “Hmm? What do you know?

“Like you said, this mansion is the beginning of a nightmare, but in real life”, Cloud elaborated, wondering how best to explain himself. “Aerith has completely lost her mind, all because she found the secrets hidden in this mansion. About the JENOVA Project, and the Promised Land…”

The man perked up and regarded Cloud with a suspicious look. “Aerith?”

“You know her?

The man lowered his eyes and shook his head. “Sorry… I cannot say”.

Red XIII frowned. “What… you’re serious?”

The man ignored him. “So, the secret is out, then…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Hearing this has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me. Now… please leave”. He lay back down in his coffin, keeping his eyes closed. A few seconds passed, and then he cracked open one eye. “... You’re still here”.

Seph rolled his eyes. “Damn right, we are. Who are you even?”

The man turned his head to look past Cloud at Seph. His eyebrows rose minimally and he rolled onto his side, putting his weight on his elbow. “What’s your name?”

Seph studied him carefully before answering. “Seph”.

“Seph? Is that… a nickname?”

Seph frowned. “No, it’s my name. Seph Gainsborough”. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why d’you ask?”

The man shook his head. “You just… remind me of someone. But I guess you wouldn’t… No. No, you wouldn’t, would you…”

Seph shifted his weight impatiently. “Quit stallin’. I told you my name, now tell us yours already”.

The man sighed and turned his eyes to the ceiling. “My name is Vincent Valentine. Formerly of the Turks”. He shrugged. “But I have no affiliation with the Shinra now. I am no one now…” He looked back down at Cloud. ”And you?

Cloud nodded his head in greeting. “Cloud, formerly of SOLDIER”.

Vincent’s eyes grew more intense again. “You were also with the Shinra? Then do you know Lucrecia?”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Who?

“Lucrecia…” Vincent sighed softly. “She was an assistant to professor Gast of the JENOVA Project. Beautiful… Lucrecia”.

Cloud got the impression that Vincent might know more about the JENOVA Project than he wanted to let on. And if that was the case, there was a question that needed asking, although Cloud dreaded the answer. He steeled himself. "The JENOVA Project was… a human experiment, wasn’t it?”

Vincent’s silence and slow exhale was enough to confirm his suspicions.

Vincent carded a hand through his bangs and sighed. “There was… no way to cancel the experiment. I couldn't stop it. I couldn’t stop _her_ ”. He scowled and his eyes flashed again. “That is my sin. I let the one I respected the most, the one I loved, face the worst”.

Seph raised an eyebrow. “So you took a nap as punishment? That just makes _perfect_ sense”.

Vincent ignored the sarcastic jab and grabbed the lid to the coffin, pulling it back up off the floor and lay back down beneath it. “Let me sleep…” he muttered before he closed the lid fully.

They all watched the coffin silently for a while to see if it would open again. It didn’t, and finally, Yuffie broke the silence.

“... What a fuckin’ weirdo”.

She pouted as everyone chided her in perfect unison.

“ _Language_ ”.

~~

After that small but confusing sidetrack, it was finally time to do what they had come for.

Cloud hesitated outside the door to the underground library. This was where everything had changed. Where Aerith had…

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of memories of smoke and fear. “I think”, he said, “it’s best if I go alone”.

Tifa nodded. “If that’s what you want”.

To be honest, that was the exact opposite of what Cloud wanted. Instead of admitting this, however, he nodded and walked through the door before he could change his mind.

The library was eerily quiet, the smell of dust and old books almost overpowering. Cloud walked slowly along the torn carpet, a sense of dread building as he neared a turn. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he stepped out into the open, not even surprised at the sight that greeted him.

“Aerith!”

Aerith sighed. “Being here brings back memories”. She lowered the book in her hands and slowly looked over at Cloud.  “Are you going to participate in the Reunion?”

Cloud scowled at the question. Those caped people in town had said something about a Reunion, hadn’t they? “I don't even know what that is!”

Aerith gave him an absent-minded smile, swaying slightly, almost as if dancing. “JENOVA will be at the Reunion”. She turned her eyes and her open arms upward and her voice rose. “JENOVA will join the Reunion, becoming a calamity from the skies!”

Cloud crossed his arms in thought. _JENOVA, a calamity from the skies?_ “... You mean... JENOVA wasn’t an Ancient?”

Aerith’s smile faded and she looked down at Cloud again, disappointment clear in her eyes. “… I see. You know, I don't think you have the right to participate”. She threw her hair over her shoulder dismissively. “I will go North, past Mt. Nibel. If you wish to find out more… then follow me…”

A sudden whirlwind knocked Cloud off balance. He struggled to remain standing while Aerith lifted from the floor on the updraft and flew over his head toward the exit.

“No, wait!” he shouted after her in vain.

The wind died down, and Aerith was gone.

~~

Cloud didn’t know how to explain what had just happened to the others. So, he stayed quiet while they made their way toward the exit. Better to gather some more info than to confuse everyone for no reason.

They were about halfway to the exit when a voice called out behind them.

“Wait”.

They all looked back toward the source of the voice and saw Vincent walking toward them with long strides. He stopped in front of Cloud and fixed him with a stern look.

“If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?

Cloud shrugged. “Dunno, really. But we’re after him and Aerith, so I guess we’ll catch him sooner or later…”

Vincent nodded slowly at this information and turned away from them. “Lucrecia…” he muttered, and then he spun around again so that his cape billowed around him. “Alright, I’ve decided to go with you”.

Nobody moved, except for Seph, who crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “… What?”

Vincent nodded. “I understand your hesitation. Though, being a former Turk, I feel I may be of help to you...”

Cloud glanced over at Tifa, who gave him a discrete shrug.

Well, Vincent did have a point. A Turk might be just what they needed. Someone who might know more about what the Shinra Inc. were planning. Cloud made a show of deliberating before he nodded. “Alright, then”.

Vincent nodded his thanks and joined up at the back of the now quite sizeable party as they continued on their way out.

Almost immediately, Yuffie sidled up beside him, apparently having forgotten her fear and instead looking almost fascinated.

After only a minute or so, her intense staring had worn down Vincent’s patience. He sighed heavily. “What?”

Yuffie’s eyes practically sparkled. “So”, she started and leaned closer to him conspiratorially, “are you a vampire?”

~~

~~

Seph dangled his feet from where he sat on the wing of the peacefully floating Tiny Bronco. “So, that didn’t work out at all, huh”, he stated.

Tifa bonked him on the head with her fist. “Then you be the pilot next time”.

“Hey, I’m not blamin’ you. I’m sure you did your best”. Seph ducked his head to avoid a second bonk.

Cid lit a cigarette and nodded. “For a first-timer, things could’ve gone a lot worse”, he agreed.

“... Thanks?” Tifa said, unsure whether or not that was really a compliment.

Cid lied down on his stomach and scooted forward until he looked to be in danger of falling off the plane, or at least of dipping his cigarette in the water. He stuck his hands down to open a hatch just above water level, and frowned at the cloud of smoke that erupted from it. He felt around inside the hatch, pulling out a tangle of frayed cables, and sighed. “Well, this bird won’t fly anymore, that’s for sure”.

Tifa looked down at her feet. “Sorry about that…”

Yuffie lay down on her stomach and put her hands in the water with a delighted hum. “It still floats though. Can’t we use it as a boat?”

Cid looked like he bit back a particularly nasty swear and settled for something only marginally more childproof. “Well... fuck, do whatever you want!” he growled and continued to rummage around inside the hatch.

Yuffie looked put off by his dismissive tone and pouted down at the water. She looked up when Barret put his hand on her shoulder.

“That’s a great idea, Yuffie”, he assured her, and she brightened instantly.

Cloud watched as Cid continued to pull parts out of the hatch, eye them and sigh before stuffing them back inside. “So, Cid, what’re you going to do now?”

Cid raised his head to look out over the sunken tail of the Tiny Bronco. He shook his head. “Dunno. I’m history with the Shinra and I’ve given up on the town”. He looked back down at his hands. “Nothin’ left for me there, now”.

Barret frowned. “How ‘bout your wife? Shera?”

Cid scoffed. “Wife? Don’t make me laugh! Just thinkin' 'bout marryin' her...” He trailed off as he glared especially hard at another scorched piece of the engine. He muttered something under his breath before he turned his head to look at Cloud. “What’re you guys gonna do?”

Cloud crossed his arms. “We’re going after a woman named Aerith".

"We’ll probably have to get Rufus someday, too”, Tifa added, helpfully.

Cid scratched his chin with a hand, rubbing engine lubricant into his stubble. “I don’t know ‘bout any of that, but…” He finally stopped his tinkering and stood up to face them. “Yeah, what the hell. Sign me up!”

Cloud looked around at the others. “How ‘bout it, guys?”

Tifa nodded. “I’m all for it”.

Everyone else nodded too, and Cloud turned back to Cid. “Looks like you’re in”.

Cid guffawed and clapped his greasy hand down onto Cloud’s shoulder. “Then I'm glad to be aboard, numbskulls!”

“Numbskulls!?” Yuffie spoke up, affronted.

Cid nodded. “Yeah. Anyone stupid enough to go up against the Shinra nowadays has _gotta_ be a numbskull!” He grinned brightly. “I like it!” He wiped his hands off on his trousers, making Vincent scrunch his nose quietly.

Tifa smiled at him before she looked at Cloud. “So, where to now?” she asked.

Cloud shrugged. Aerith had told him to go North, but now there was almost no way to go further North than this. “I’ve no idea”.

“You guys're lookin' for Aerith, right?” Cid scratched his stubble again, smearing the lubricant on his chin back onto his fingers. “That Rufus kid was goin’ after an Aerith towards the Temple of the Ancients”.

Cloud perked up at this piece of intel. “Really!? Where’s that?”

Cid shrugged. “Dunno. He was tellin’ me he was headin’ ‘the wrong direction’... so maybe it’s off this way?” he suggested and pointed toward the horizon.

Cloud nodded. “Let’s head for land and get some information”.

Cid gave him a thumbs up and pulled down his goggles over his eyes before he jumped down into the cockpit, revving up what remained of the engine.

Yuffie gave a delighted whoop as they started to cruise toward the shoreline. A small wave made the plane sway in a rolling motion, and Yuffie’s smile disappeared and she made a choked sound. She hurried toward the edge of the wing and lay down flat on her stomach with her head over the edge.

 _Temple of the Ancients…_ Cloud thought while Barret grabbed Yuffie’s leg to stop her from sliding off as another wave tilted the plane. _That name bothers me..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally thinking of introducing Cid in a separate chapter, but since I'm trying to only write things relevant to Seph, it would've been a really short chapter. Hope the timeskip isn't too awkward~


	15. uWutai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally the only chapter name I can think of

“ _Hey, Cloud_ ”.

Cloud looked up at Tifa and raised an eyebrow. “ _Hey. Why are we whispering?_ ”

Tifa smiled and sat down next to him at the edge of the camp, careful to make as little sound as possible. “ _Cid figures we’re somewhere near Wutai_ ”, she whispered. When Cloud just gave her a confused look, she elaborated. “ _I thought we could maybe stop by there? For Yuffie’s sake_ ”.

Cloud frowned at her. “ _I_ _don’t think she’ll just go back home if we take her there_ ”.

“ _I didn’t mean it like that, I just…_ ” Tifa sighed and glanced over at Yuffie’s sleeping form, curled up between Barret and Cid. “ _I guess I don’t want her to get homesick. I mean, who knows how long she’s been away from home already?_ ”

Cloud considered this and then nodded slowly. “ _I guess it can’t hurt?_ ”

Tifa smiled. “ _Thanks_ ”.

~~

In hindsight, going to Wutai may have hurt. At least as far as their collection of Materia was concerned. There was also the added possibility that those Shinra soldiers would report their position to headquarters. Cloud sighed and placed his head in his palm. _What a mess._

“Cheer up, guys, we’ll find her eventually!” Cait Sith jumped up and down, trying to energise the group.  “I mean, there aren’t _that_ many places to hide. If we search every building, we’re sure to run into her”.

Seph nodded slowly. “You know what? Cat man, you’re absolutely right”. He turned to Cloud and raised an eyebrow. “Great leader, might I suggest we start searching at the establishment known as Turtle’s Paradise?”

Cloud eyed the building and nodded gratefully. “A capital idea, second lieutenant”. As he began to walk toward the building, Seph furrowed his brow behind him.

“Wait, I’m second?”

Tifa gave Seph a consoling pat on the shoulder as she passed him. “Yeah, because I’m first”. She winked at him and laughed as he adopted an exaggerated pout and cocked his hip.

“Well, _I_ think I deserve a promotion. Is there a faculty I can file a complaint to?”

Cloud smiled and rolled his eyes before stepping through the door into the cosily lit pub. He had barely had the time to locate the bar before a surprised shout rang through the room.

“Ah, you!?”

A chair clattered and Elena the Turk stepped out in front of Cloud, looking triumphant. “It seems fate has brought us together again”. She slipped into a fighting stance and glared at Cloud and his party, who had joined them by now. “Now, get ready to die!”

Cloud reached for the hilt of his sword, but was distracted by a deep sigh coming from the table closest to the door.

“... Elena, you talk too much, yo”.

Elena, flabbergasted, turned to stare disbelievingly at Reno. “ _What?_ ”

Reno sighed again and grabbed a handful of nuts from the bowl on their table. “Let’s go through this again, yeah? Elena, what are we doing way out here, in the middle of nowhere?”

Elena gave him a confused look. “We're on vacation to rest up from work”.

“Bingo”, Reno nodded and tossed about half of the nuts he was holding into his mouth, chewing them unenthusiastically. “And now, our vacation is ruined”.

“... Even the booze tastes bad now”, Rude commented solemnly from beside Reno.

Elena lowered her head. “... Sorry…” she muttered and uprighted her chair before sitting down again. Then she glanced up at Cloud and pouted. “You're in luck. The next time we meet, I won't be so nice. Now get out of my sight!” She turned her head back to study her drink in silence.

Tifa tapped Cloud’s arm. “Hey, let’s do as she says”.

Cloud nodded and herded the party out of the bar again.

Outside, Seph let out a disappointed sigh. “Damn. And I’d heard some good stuff about this place, too”.

Tifa shrugged and started walking away from the pub. “Can’t be helped. Without any Materia, we’d be no match for the Turks”.

“And without that kid, we won’t have any Materia”, Cid sighed and scratched his stubble. “Well, isn’t this just a goddamn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation”.

That comment made Cloud, Tifa and Seph shoot him a suspicious glance before sharing a knowing look.

“Oh my, Cid”, Seph grinned and crossed his arms loosely over his chest, walking closer to Cid and putting more swing into his hips as he did. “I didn’t think you’d be into that kind of pop culture”.

Cid rolled his eyes and retrieved a cigarette from the pack behind his goggles. “Didn’t yer parents teach you not to judge a book by its cover?” He lit the cigarette and cocked an eyebrow at them. “Or by its age?”

Barret hummed and nodded. “I thought the ending was a bit much, honestly”.

Red XIII made an agreeing sound and Cait Sith leaned his head to the side in contemplation.

“Though, from a storyteller’s perspective, a strong finish is key, so I understand the thought”.

Tifa shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I thought it fit the story. It was like the execution of it somehow made it have a bigger emotional impact”.

Cid nodded enthusiastically and rolled the cigarette into the corner of his mouth. “My thoughts exactly!” He turned to Vincent, who had stayed quiet up to this point. “How ‘bout you? What’re your thoughts?”

Vincent gave him a deadpan look. “I have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about”.

Cid looked back at him, incredulous. “You mean you haven’t seen it? Under what rock’ve you been hidin’?”

Vincent met his eyes calmly. “I’ve been sleeping to atone for my sins. I have had no need of popular culture”.

Seph laughed at Cid’s confused face and gave Vincent’s shoulder a consoling pat. “We’ll help you catch up on the important stuff later, don’t you worry”.

Vincent opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the muffled sound of shouting.

Red XIII’s ears perked up. “It’s coming from that building up ahead”, he noted and listened attentively for a second before nodding. “It’s a girl’s voice”.

They all walked closer, forming a half circle around the door to the house. From here, they could make out what sounded like the final words of a heated argument.

 _“Don't you try and tell me what I should do!”_ they heard Yuffie shout from inside.

Her shout was answered by a man’s voice. _“Is that any way to talk to your elder? You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You're a miserable daughter!”_

 _“And you're a sad excuse for a father!”_ came Yuffie’s voice, closer this time, before the door was slammed open and a practically fuming Yuffie stomped out onto the steps. She immediately whipped around and stuck her head back into the house. “And also, _I hate you!_ ” she screamed and slammed the door shut. She stood by the door for a second, wiping at her eyes, before turning around and finally realising that she had stepped right into the impromptu ambush. Her slightly reddened eyes darted around for an escape route, finding none.

“Yuffie”, Tifa tried softly, but was interrupted.

“Shut up!” Yuffie stomped at the ground irritatedly. “I don’t need your pity, I’m _fine!_ ” She turned away her face and wiped at her eyes again, and then looked at them stubbornly. “You know what, _fine_ ”, she snapped. “If you want your Materia back that badly, I’ll give it back”. She stomped past them angrily, and Cloud looked back at the others and shrugged before following her.

“Wow”, Barret muttered behind him, “I sure hope Marlene doesn’t get like that when she’s that age”.

Cid patted his shoulder in passing and shook his head. “She will, but I salute your optimism”.

Yuffie led them to a house at the other end of town, up a set of stairs, and then down another set of stairs and into what looked like a training room. Once there, she stopped at the other end of the room and crossed her arms. “I didn’t steal it to be an asshole. Just so you know. I did it for Wutai”.

“That’s great to hear, kid”, said Cid and chewed on his new, unlit cigarette.

Barret nodded sternly. “But you still took somethin’ that ain’t yours, which means you hafta give it back”.

Yuffie nodded and sighed. “I know, I know”. She turned to a pair of levers on the back wall of the room. “I hid it in here, so I’ll just…” She pulled one of the levers and a rattling sound was the only warning the others got before a metal cage fell down from the ceiling, perfectly trapping them all inside it.

Seph considered their predicament for a second before eyeing Yuffie, sounding more impressed than angry. “You little shit”.

Yuffie put her hands at her sides and laughed loudly. “You should never trust anyone that easily! The Materia's mine, so, tough!” She laughed again and ran past the cage and halfway up the stairs, before stopping and poking her head back into the room. “Well, if there’s one thing I know, it’s _steeling_ ”. She giggled at her own pun and waved at them. “See ya!” she grinned and disappeared up the stairs and left the others to their unfortunate situation.

There was silence for a moment, until Cid groaned.

“Oh man, I put out a cig for this?” He produced a lighter from a pocket and held it up in question. “Anyone have anything against if I smoke in here?”

Seph shifted his weight and rolled his eyes. “You smell like a literal chimney, I can’t imagine it’d make any difference”.

Cid laughed and raised the lighter to his cigarette. “Ta”.

~~

“Did you find her?”

Cloud stopped by their rendezvous point - the structure with the big bell - to catch his breath before shaking his head. “No luck. You?”

Tifa shook her head and pointed behind herself. “We’ve searched that whole part of town. If she’s there, she’s really good at hiding”.

Barret sighed and kicked at a pebble. “I’m startin’ to think she might be better at hidin’ than we give her credit for”.

Cid grunted and fished out a cigarette and a lighter from his pockets. “Sure seems like it”, he agreed and put the cigarette between his lips, leaning back against the wall to light it.

Instead, he yelped and clawed at the air as the wall gave way and he lost his balance, falling backwards and somehow ending up in something that looked like a rather questionable upside down yoga position. After a moment or two, he broke the stunned silence with a chuckle. “Well, I’ll be damned”.

Vincent swept past him and peered into the darkness. “Looks like it leads underground”, he observed.

Seph poked his head over Vincent’s shoulder. “A hidden basement?” He grinned and poked teasingly at Vincent with his elbow. “Then you should feel right at home down there”.

Vincent huffed. “Watch your tone, young man. I’ve atoned for many sins through the years, it’ll be no problem to add another one”.

Seph rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, mister Grinch. And also, quit it with the ‘young man’ stuff, it makes you sound like you’re sixty”.

“I am”, Vincent said before descending the stairs, leaving the others behind to take in this piece of information.

“Wow”, Tifa said at last. “Dermatologists must really hate him”.

Both Cloud and Seph snorted and Tifa held out her hands for a double high-five before they all followed Vincent down into the basement.

When they caught up to Vincent near the bottom of the stairs, they all heard a familiar voice call out from ahead.

“ _Ow_ ! I said let _go_ , you jerk! Who do you think I am?!”

They all shared a look and hurried down the remaining steps into a small room, where a person clad in black was restraining a frantically struggling Yuffie.

Behind them, Cloud saw… _No. No way._ Cloud clenched his fist. “You!”

Cid furrowed his brow. “Who?”

“... Ho… ho…”

Cloud saw Tifa flex her fingers and Seph scrunch his nose in disgust as the black-clad person dragged Yuffie aside so that they could finally get a good - but unwanted - look at the last person in the room.

Don Corneo stood with his hands behind his back, bouncing up and down on his heels and looking incredibly self-satisfied. “Hohi, hohi! I've finally got a new chicky! Two for one, in fact! Hohi, hohi! Hohihi!”

Cloud scowled at him, and spoke in unison with Cid. “ _Two?_ ”

Right on cue, there was an annoyed grunt at the far side of the room, and they finally noticed that another black-clad person was hauling Elena up a set of stairs.

Elena kicked at the person’s legs and tried to free herself from their grip. “Let go of me! You're gonna regret this! I’m with the Turks, you know!”

The person paid her no heed and instead dragged her up the stairs and through a doorway, followed by the person who was now practically carrying Yuffie.

Corneo distorted his slimy face into a smile and then turned on his heel and bolted up the stairs as he laughed.

After a moment’s confusion, Cloud and the others rushed after him. However, when they reached the end of the trail - a shrine - Corneo was nowhere to be found. Instead, they were confronted by three Shinra infantrymen blocking their path.

“Corneo’s here, I’m sure of it!” one infantryman exclaimed.

The second one nodded. “These guys must be hiding him!”

The first one readied their gun and stomped their foot. “Then let’s go get ‘em!”

The third infantryman spoke up in a gentle voice. “How about we ask first before jumping-”

“ _Attack!_ ” shouted the other two and charged right at Cloud’s party.

The third one sighed and shrugged before jogging half-heartedly after them. “Charge…” they droned without any real conviction.

The fight was over before it had even really begun, but by now enough time had passed that Corneo had definitely gone into hiding, if he had any sense.

“Ugh, that absolute _fuckwad!_ ” Tifa growled and punched the wall. “He planned this, I just know he did!”

Cait Sith nodded. “From what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t put it past him”.

Cid looked between them with a quirked eyebrow. “Again, who?”

While Tifa provided Cid with a quick character profile of Corneo, and with a retelling of their own experience regarding his personality, Seph turned to Vincent and grinned.

“So… If you’re really that old, should we be callin’ you ‘gramps’?”

Vincent met his eyes with a level, uninterested look. “No, you should not”.

~~

Cloud had barely stepped outside before he found himself in another predicament. Reno and Rude were standing on the road just a couple of steps away from the door, effectively blocking the party’s way. Thankfully, though, they didn’t appear to have noticed them so far. Slowly, and as quietly as possible, Cloud tried to herd his little army back into the house while also peeking around the doorframe to keep an eye on the Turks.

He saw Reno shift his weight onto one leg and look up at the sky. “Maaan, that Corneo sure is good at escaping, yo…”

Rude adjusted his shades. “... Elena...”

Reno sighed and stretched his back before nodding confidently. “Well, no use hangin’ about. Let's go give ‘em a taste of what the Turks can do”, he grinned, and Rude nodded and rushed off toward the main part of the village. Reno watched his retreating back for a couple of seconds before turning to the building. “And don’t think I didn’t see ya’ll over there, yo”.

Cloud froze, instinctively staying perfectly still to try and call a possible bluff.

Reno laughed. “Relax, hot stuff, I’m not out to get you or anything”. His laugh faded into a somewhat worried expression. “If Corneo’s got Elena, then that's gonna to make things a little hard, yeah? And uh…”

His ernest expression made Cloud decide to give him the benefit of the doubt, and he stepped out of the doorway, immediately backed up by the others. “Corneo took someone from us, too. And we need to get her back”.

Reno eyed him for a moment before nodding. “Let me just make one thing clear, yo: we’ve no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not to bother each other. That's all”.

Cloud nodded. “That's fine. We’ve no intention of cooperating with the Turks either”.

“Damn right, we don’t!” Cid agreed while taking a borderline furious drag on his cigarette. “Now, where’d that boneless dickmaggot run off to?”

That comment made Seph and Tifa snort loudly and Reno throw his head back with laughter.

“That’s fucking _gold_ , yo”, he exclaimed and wiped away a tear. “That’s goin’ straight into my report later”. He straightened his back and grinned at them. “Just for that, I’ll give ya’ll a clue: it's the place that stands out the most”. He gave them a mocking salute combined with finger guns before breaking into a run and tearing off down the road.

Cloud heard Vincent sigh mournfully at the back of their group. “Is this really what the Turks have become? Back when _I_ joined, every Turk was expected to behave seriously and professionally at all times”.

Seph met Cloud’s and Tifa’s eyes and gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Alright, grandpa, whatever you say”.

Both Tifa and Cloud looked down at the ground to hide their smiles.

“So, where’s this place that stands out the most, then?” Barret asked, crossing his arms.

Cloud forced away his grin and shrugged. “No idea”.

Red XIII tilted his head in thought. “The pagoda seems suspicious to me, but I don’t know for certain”.

Tifa tapped at the ground with her foot. “There must be other weird placed in town, though, right?”

While they were deliberating this, Vincent huffed and swept past them all, his cape billowing dramatically as he did. “There’s only one place it could possibly be”, he said and turned to look at them over his shoulder. “If you can handle letting grandpa show you the way”.

~~

Vincent led them right to Da-chao, a set of statues carved into the mountainside not too far from the village centre.

The first thing they saw was Reno, who smirked and nodded at them. “So, you finally made it”. Without waiting to see if anyone would ask, he gave them a quick rundown of the plan. “Me and Rude’ll split up. You do whatever you want, as long as you don’t endanger Elena, and we won’t do anything to your friend”. There was a sly glimmer in his eyes as he added: “For now”.

Before Cloud could comment on this plan, Reno turned and hurried further up the path, and there really was nothing else to do than to follow his example.

After a couple of wrong turns, Cloud and the others finally found Yuffie. The relief was short-lived, however, seeing as Yuffie was tied to an ancient-looking statue at a considerable height. Cloud honestly couldn’t decide if the fact that Elena was in the exact same predicament was a relief or not.

A delighted hum bounced off the rocks, and Cloud saw the Corneo had positioned himself in the palm of one of the statues, pacing to and fro in front of his captives. “Hmm! Delicious... scrumptious! I think I've just found a new _hobby_!” He chuckled and regarded Yuffie and Elena closely, deliberating with himself. “Now, which shall it be? So hard to decide…”

Yuffie wiggled in her ropes and made a disgusted face. “Ew, _gross-ness!_ ”

“All right, that's it!”

Cloud was suddenly pushed out of the way as Barret passed him on the narrow path, stomping toward Corneo with purpose and unlatching the safety on his gunarm.

Corneo jumped at his angry outburst and turned toward them, seeming properly threatened by what could be assumed to be his approaching doom. “Wha- what's goin' on? Who are you?!”

Barret pointed his gunarm right at Corneo’s head. “I’m Barret of AVALANCHE, and don’t you forget it!”

Corneo backed away, wide-eyed. “No, wait… Just wait a second!” he pleaded. Then, his eyes narrowed. “Barret, huh?” He leaned to the side to peer around Barret at Cloud and give him an almost impressed look. “You really hooked yourself a huge one, didn’t you”.

Cloud glared back at him, not bothering to deny his assumptions. “And get this; I didn’t have to kidnap anyone”.

Cait Sith jumped up and down on his mech, shaking his little fists. “Exactly! If you want to get women, there's such a thing as the _right_ way, you stupid, slimy, sleazy old scab bag!”

Corneo’s face flushed with sudden anger. “Be quiet! None of you know how much I've suffered since-”

“ _We don’t care!_ ” Tifa, Cloud and Seph interrupted him in perfect unison.

Corneo placed a hand over his heart and took another step back. “You hurt me! Didn’t our time together mean anything to you three?”

Seph’s eyes almost seemed to flash a brighter green with how hard he was glaring at Corneo. “Shut up!”

Corneo waved his hands wildly. “No no, just listen to me - it won't take long! Now, why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?”

Seph took another step toward Corneo, placing himself beside Barret. “Because he's ready to fuckin’ die, that’s why”.

Corneo made a show of considering his answer. “Hmm, _wrong!_ ” He laughed and produced a remote control from his pocket, stopping himself right before pressing something on it. He looked up at Seph and chuckled. “You really are bad at these guessing games, did you know that?”

Both Barret and Seph lunged toward him simultaneously, but Corneo just laughed and pushed a button, and Elena and Yuffie shouted incoherently as some kind of hidden machinery rotated them upside-down.

“Uh-uh, I’d keep away if I were you~” he teased and waved the remote out of their reach. “You see, if I push this button, the clamps will release, and those two will be _squashed!_ ”

Barret’s eyes raced between the remote and Yuffie and Elena and back again, and he waved his gunarm angrily. “You damn dirty-playin' fucknut of a shitstain!”

Corneo laughed heartily and looked like he could float. “And after all this, I guess I'm still the one laughing last!”

A level, but self-satisfied, voice suddenly carried across to them. “No, that would be us”.

The colour seemed to drain from Corneo’s face as Reno stepped out onto the palm of the statue, stepping confidently around the others to stand right in front of Corneo. “...The Turks!” Corneo gasped.

Reno laughed and ran a hand through his bangs. “Come on. You knew this was gonna happen after you leaked that secret. Now we're going to take care of you…” He moved his hand with a flourish, and was suddenly holding his short, rod-like weapon, which he then extended with a flick of his wrist and a menacing grin. “... Personally”.

Corneo squeaked and backed away, further toward the edge. “ _Dammit!_ Then they're all goin' with me!” He went to press another button, but instead he staggered, dropping the remote and clutching at his hand. He squealed with pain and backed further away from Reno, his head swiveling around wildly to try and locate his attacker. He suddenly began waving his arms wildly, and before Cloud had really figured out what was happening, Corneo had tumbled over the edge of the stone hand.

Reno smirked and made finger guns at a spot almost parallel to where Corneo had been standing. “Good timing, Rude”.

Rude nodded and pocketed what looked like a throwing knife. “...Let's get to work”.

“Gotcha”. Reno walked over to where Corneo had fallen and put his foot down right at the edge, gradually moving more weight onto that foot.

A whine from somewhere over the edge told Cloud that Corneo was apparently still hanging onto the ledge, and that Reno was stepping on his fingers. Cloud nodded to himself. _Served him right, honestly._

Reno leaned down slightly, putting more weight onto his foot as Cloud and the others shuffled closer. “All right, Corneo. This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why d’you think we would be teaming up with those guys to get you? Here’re some alternatives”. Reno grinned maliciously. “One: because we were ready to die. Two: because we were clueless. Or three: because we were sure of victory”.

Corneo winced and gasped, presumably at the pain in his hand. “N… Number three?”

Reno shot him a wry look. “All wrong”. He then lifted his foot and stomped down on Corneo’s hand, causing him to squeal in pain and lose his grip, his squeal warping into a scream as he fell, until the screaming faded into the distance and the wind.

Apparently entirely unfazed by having just killed a man, Reno ran his hand through his bangs. “The correct answer is…”

On the path by the big stone face, Rude readjusted his shades. “... because it's our job”.

Elena, still upside-down, wiggled in her ropes and let out a relieved laugh. “Oh, thank you so, so much! I honestly thought you wouldn’t come help me!”

Reno turned toward Elena with a serious face. “Elena, don't act so weak, yo. You're a Turk!”

Elena’s eyes widened before she straightened her back as much as her current situation would allow and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, sir!”

Barret scratched the back of his head, an almost sheepish look on his face. “I guess… considerin’ all this, we oughta thank-”

He was interrupted by a ringtone, and Reno held up a finger to silence him as he flipped open his phone and answered the call. “Yo, Reno speaking... Yes... Yes... I'll get on it right away. I will... Yeah, see ya~”.

He had barely had the time to end the call before Elena spoke up. “Was that the company?”

“Yeah”. Reno flipped the phone closed again and rolled his eyes. “They want us to find Cloud…”

Those words made Cloud instinctively reach for his sword, noting that the others were also readying their weapons.

Rude didn’t move, but Cloud imagined that his eyes were moving between Cloud and the others and Reno behind his shades. “... Are we on?”

Reno considered this before sweeping his bangs back. “Nah, we're off duty today”. He turned to wink at Cloud. “So consider yourself off the hook for the day, dollface”.

“... Thank you”, Cloud replied, trying his best not to make it sound like a question.

“So, um”, Yuffie spoke up, sounding more irritated than thankful for being saved, “are you going to let me down, or...?”

Seph pursed his lips in thought. “Mmmmm, maybe we should come back later. Looks like you’re a bit… Wu- _tied up_ at the moment”.

The look Yuffie gave him spoke of murderous intent. “You are _literally_ the _worst_ ”.


	16. Curtains, please...

The information they’d gotten about Dio having the Keystone turned out to be true. Cloud had won it in the Battle Arena, fair and square, and they were all set to make for the Temple of the Ancients. If only the cable car to and from the Gold Saucer wasn’t broken, they’d already be halfway there.

As it was, Cloud was instead stuck in a room tactlessly decorated to look like a children’s Halloween party, watching the artificial lightning through the window. He sighed and shifted his weight. It was so frustrating not to be able to do anything but wait.

The sound of the door opening made him turn around as Seph stepped into the dimly lit room.

“Hey”.

Cloud nodded at him. “What’s up?”

Seph walked closer and smiled.  “You wanna go on that date?”

Cloud blinked. “What?

Seph rolled his eyes. “I’m not one to stay indebted to people. ‘Sides, we’re stuck up here anyway. It’ll give us something fun to do”.

Cloud hesitated. There was just so much at stake that having fun didn’t really seem like something that should happen.

“C’mon, I’ll make it worth your while”, Seph teased and winked.

Against his better judgement, and trying to force away his blush, Cloud stopped resisting and allowed himself to be dragged out of his room and out of the haunted mansion.

When they reached the main lobby of the Saucer, a short-haired woman in a colourful uniform waved happily at them. “Welcome! You’ve chosen a great night to join us here at the Gold Saucer! Tonight is Enchantment Night, so all attractions are free! How ‘bout it, you two? I recommend visiting Event Square to enjoy an entertaining show!”

Seph considered her offer and nodded. “Yeah, why not. C’mon, Cloud, let’s go check it out!” he said and disappeared through the portal to Event Square before Cloud could protest.

Sighing, and not really feeling entertained at all at the moment, Cloud honestly considered just turning around and going back to his room.

“Not one for sitting around, is he?” the uniformed woman observed and winked at Cloud, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Cloud looked up at her and shrugged. “Dunno, really”.

The woman looked between Cloud and the portal. “You know, I reckon he’s just trying to cheer you up”. She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “You look like you need it”.

Cloud would have protested, had she not been so utterly and completely right. After all that had happened and all they had found out, he really wanted nothing else than to have some fun for once. “... I guess”, he conceded reluctantly.

The woman smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Then go have some fun, kiddo. You deserve it”.

Cloud nodded. Yeah. Yeah, he did deserve to have fun every once in a while. He smiled and entered the portal. Tonight was going to be _fun_.

He had barely stepped out of the portal on the other side when a voice greeted him enthusiastically.

“Congratulations, darlings! You are our 100th couple today! That means you two will be the leads in tonight’s play!”

Cloud scratched at his ringing ear as he regarded the rather eccentrically dressed man in front of him, feeling stunned by the copious amounts of glitter he was seeing. Then it dawned on him what the man had said. “... What?” He turned his head to see Seph rolling his eyes a bit to the side.

The man made a sweeping gesture that made the glitter on his dress catch the light, temporarily blinding Cloud in the process. “Oh, don’t you worry, dears, it’s not hard. Just play it however you want to and the rest of the cast will cover up for you”. He started to walk toward the stage and beckoned for them to follow. “Come, this way~”.

Cloud, still not entirely on board with this turn of events, tried to call after him. “Hey, wait…”

“Yeah, we’re coming!” Seph called to the man, louder. Then he turned back to Cloud and grinned wickedly. “Hey, I’ve an idea”, he mumbled conspiratorially and leaned in closer to him. “Let’s just fuckin’ _wreck_ this play”. Then he grabbed Cloud’s wrist and dragged him along to catch up with the man, who led them up a short staircase which presumably led backstage.

The man suddenly whooped with surprise and stopped abruptly. He turned back and smiled at Cloud.

“Please don’t step on my train, thank you, sweetie. This fabric was not easy to come by”.

~~

“Long, long ago”, a voice echoed over the speakers, “an evil shadow appeared over the peaceful kingdom of Galdia. Princess Rosa had just been kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What would become of her? Nobody knew… Just then, the legendary hero, Alfred, appeared!”

The glittery man who had put Cloud in this situation lowered the mic from his mouth and patted Cloud on the back. “That’s your cue! Go get ‘em, darling!” he sang and pushed Cloud bodily onto the stage, making him stagger to find his balance.

Immediately after that, a person dressed up as a mediaeval knight entered the stage by pirouetting in like a ballerina. They stopped beside Cloud and took a knee with a flourish. “Oh… You must be the legendary hero… Alfred!”

Cloud was so not into this. At least the house lights were down. Not seeing the audience might save him some embarrassment.

“Hey”, the knight whispered, “it’s your line”.

Cloud looked back at the knight and pointed to himself.

“Yeah, you”, the knight whispered and then cleared his throat loudly. “Oh… You must be the legendary hero… Alfred! I know it in my soul. Please… please save Princess Rosa!” He moved back and lifted his arms. “Now… please talk… to the King!”

Exactly on cue, a person dressed up as a king came pirouetting onto the stage. “Oh… legendary hero, Alfred”, he said. “You must have come to save my beloved Rosa…” He sighed deeply and then continued speaking loudly, enunciating his words overly clearly. “On the peak of a dangerous mountain…” he said while the knight formed an A-shape with his arms, “dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados…” The knight mimed a monster with wings and claws, “... who has kidnapped Princess Rosa… But, brave hero, you cannot beat the Evil Dragon King now! Talk to one who can help you…”

On cue, a witch pirouetted onto the stage. That seemed to be a gimmick.

 _Okay_ , Cloud thought and sighed, _I’d better talk to the witch, then…_ He walked over to the witch, who stepped forward and opened her arms to unfold her enormous sleeves like wings.

“I am the great witch, Vormana! What do you wish to know?

Cloud was about to ask the obvious, when Seph’s words echoed in his head.

_“Let’s just fuckin’ wreck this play”._

In a sudden flash of inspiration, Cloud said the first thing that came to mind.

“I wish to know the Princess’s measurements!” he exclaimed, and was rewarded with a murmur of chuckles from the audience.

Off to the side, Seph gave him a thumbs up from backstage.

The witch looked taken aback. “That isn’t-” She cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t you rather want to know the one and only weakness of… _the Evil Dragon King?_ ” She spoke the last few words in a loud, sinister voice and gave him a meaningful look.

Cloud waved a hand. “Nah, I’m fine, thanks”, he dismissed her, which elicited more chuckles from the audience.

The knight stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Alas, the legendary hero, Alfred, is so confident in his prowess that he does not feel the need to know that the Evil Dragon King’s only weakness is _true love_ ”. He gave Cloud that same meaningful look.

At that moment, a person dressed in a green dragon costume carried Seph - who had donned a tiara - onto the stage. Seph directed a royal wave at the audience before he was set down on the floor, and the audience cheered and whooped.

The dragon stomped a foot and roared. “What ho! Do you dare underestimate me!? I am the Evil Dragon King, Valvados! I have not harmed the Princess… since I have been expecting you!” The dragon laughed loudly. “Now, who is your enemy? Say it!”

Seph smirked and raised an eyebrow, and Cloud knew exactly what to say.

“My enemy is… Princess Rosa!” he exclaimed and pointed to Seph.

“... _What!?_ ” the Evil Dragon King asked, incredulous.

Cloud smiled darkly. “Princess Rosa… How I’ve longed for the day I would finally have my revenge on you”.

Seph tossed his hair over his shoulder with a soft laugh. “Alfred. I thought I defeated you long ago”.

Simultaneously, they both lunged at each other and began a mock brawl while the audience cheered and the other actors looked on in quiet confusion.

The fight ended with Seph on the floor and Cloud stood over him.

Cloud pointed accusingly at Seph. “Your time has come, Evil Dragon Princess Rosa!”

The king, the knight and the witch, as well as the man backstage all cried out a strangled ‘ _what!?_ ’

“So, you have found out my secret, then”. Seph let out an exaggerated laugh. “No matter. Such knowledge will not help you now!” He nimbly rolled onto his feet and snatched the fake sword from the stunned knight, and in one swift movement swung it around and stabbed it right between Cloud’s arm and torso.

Cloud made his eyes go wide and coughed as he staggered backwards before he fell into a limp pile, dead for all intents and purposes.

The narrator swallowed. “... Oh…” Then he collected himself and spoke more clearly into the mic. “Oh no, this truly is a dark day for the kingdom of Galdia. With the legendary hero, Alfred, defeated, is there anyone who can save the kingdom from certain ruin at the hands of the Evil Dragon Princess Rosa?

There was stunned silence for a long moment.

Then suddenly, the knight let out a theatrical wail and threw himself onto the floor beside Cloud. “I cannot believe it! The legendary hero, Alfred, defeated! I have admired him for so long, and now…” He broke off and pretended to hold back a sob. “And now, I will never be able to tell him how much I love him”, he said before leaning down and pressing his lips to Cloud’s.

_… Wait, what!?_

Cloud’s eyes flew open and he grabbed onto the knight’s shoulders, aiming to push him away, but the kiss had already ended.

The narrator gave an exaggerated gasp. “What is this?! True love’s kiss has brought the legendary hero, Alfred, back to life!”

“ _Sorry_ ”, the knight whispered to Cloud while the audience cheered, “ _I panicked_ ”.

“ _It’s okay_ ”, Cloud whispered back. “ _But could you ask next time?_ ”

“Oh no!” the Evil Dragon King shouted. “True love is a dragon’s only weakness!” He screeched and then began to sag into a pile.

“It seems the love between the knight and our hero is so strong that it has defeated the Evil Dragon King!” the narrator reported, sounding relieved at this turn of events. “Now, will it be enough to also defeat the Evil Dragon Princess Rosa?” he added in a hopeful voice.

Everyone turned to Seph while he considered this for a moment, before he screamed in anguish. “Agh, it _hurts!_ Never before have I, the Evil Dragon Princess Rosa, experienced a love this strong!” He staggered back and shielded his face with his hands. “This power is immense… No, I cannot be defeated. It’s… _impossible_ ”, he choked out as he fell into a heap on the floor.

Everyone went still and absolutely silent.

Was this the end? Cloud didn’t think anyone really knew.

The muted sound of a zipper cut through the silence and a young woman in a dress stepped out of the dragon costume. She placed a tiara on her head and gasped delightedly. “Father, it is I, Princess Rosa! The Evil Dragon Princess turned me into a dragon and pretended to be me, but now that she has been defeated I am returned to normal!”

She kicked her foot out of the costume and raised her arms to the sky. “Today ends the dark times of the kingdom of Galdia, and a new era of love and peace begins!”

The narrator seemed just as stunned as the actors. “... Yeah, what she said”.

The audience erupted into thunderous applause and Seph and Cloud were pulled up off the floor to join the actors in taking a bow.

Seph glanced over at Cloud and cocked an eyebrow, and Cloud smiled. All things considered, he really had ended up having a lot of fun, hadn’t he.

~~

Cloud hadn’t really approved of the gondola ride in the first place, for no particular reason. Now, in the pressured, awkward silence that can only exist between two people in a confined space with no escape, Cloud understood exactly why he had been against it.

He kept his eyes on the night sky, mapping out the stars and trying to find familiar constellations. Suddenly, the sky was filled with multicolored lights that spread across it, followed by soft poofs that were almost inaudible through the walls of the gondola.

Cloud glanced at Seph, whose eyes were fixed on the floor, and nodded to the windows. “Fireworks”, he noted, inwardly sighing at himself over how stupid that had sounded.

As expected, they continued on in silence, finally beginning the descending part of the round.

“It bothered me at first”.

Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion at Seph’s sudden comment. “The fireworks?”

Seph shook his head and smiled sadly. “How you two were so like eachother”.

Cloud could sense the delicate thread that tied this statement to an explanation. Afraid he might break it if he tried to speak, he waited silently for Seph to continue.

It took a moment before Seph sighed and elaborated. “You’re two completely different people, but you still look exactly the same. The way you walk, and gesture… sometimes how you talk”. He scratched his temple. “It’s hard to explain. I think I must’ve kind of seen him again, in you, and that’s why I acted… the way I did. I was still so mad at him…” He shook his head slowly. “But you’re not him. You’re different. Things... are different…” He groaned and hid his face in his hands. “I know I’m not makin’ any sense…”

Not knowing what to say, Cloud opted to shrug. “Few things in life make sense”.

Seph huffed a small laugh. “Tell me about it”.

The silence somehow seemed lighter now, and Cloud breathed out a relieved sigh while the gondola steadily approached the platform.

A small ‘ding’ told them that it was time to gather their belongings and prepare to disembark, and Cloud shifted in his seat to sit closer to the door.

An amused huff from Seph made Cloud look up at him.

“You know, kissing some stranger while you’re on a date…” He grinned and winked at Cloud. “Bold move”.

Cloud ignored the warmth creeping onto his cheeks and leaned back in his seat with a smug smile. “Oh? You jealous?”

“Oh yeah, definitely”, Seph joked with a roll of his eyes. He got up to stand in front of the door, and Cloud joined him as a beep signalled that the ride was about to end.

As they stood there, slightly too close to be entirely unintentional, Seph suddenly leaned down so their faces were on the same level. Cloud only caught a quick glimpse of something soft in Seph’s eyes before he closed the remaining gap and kissed Cloud on the mouth.

For the second time in a very short time, Cloud was caught completely by surprise, and he could do nothing but tell himself to breathe and hope that the moment would last just a bit longer.

The sound of the door woke him from his trance and he watched, wide-eyed and furiously blushing, as Seph pulled back and smiled at him.

“Consider it a pay raise”, he said with a wink before he stepped off the gondola and strode off toward the main area, leaving Cloud to stare after him.

“Sir”. The voice of the ticket lady made him finally turn away his eyes from Seph. “Sir, are you riding again?”

Cloud smiled absent-mindedly. “No”, he murmured and lightly touched his fingers to his lips while he looked at the corner that Seph had disappeared behind. “I’m fine”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was honestly so much fun, I hope you guys like it~ <3  
> Also, I dedicate this week's chapter to Sephiroth week on tumblr and to the fact that Sephiroth is very much gay and very much a bottom ;);)


	17. Temple of the Ancients

Cloud tipped his head back to take in the enormous pyramid-shaped structure in front of them. “So that’s the Temple of the Ancients…”

Tifa watched the temple with a thoughtful look. “It’d make sense for the voices of the Ancients and the Planet to be louder here, wouldn’t it?” She turned to Seph. “Can you hear anything? Feel anything?”

Seph shook his head. “Nothing. ‘Cept I feel a migraine coming on”.

Tifa crossed her arms with a frown. “Maybe that’s it? Could your migraines be caused by the Ancients?”

Seph shrugged. “Beats me. But if they are, I’d rather not talk to them, thanks”.

Tifa snorted and rolled her eyes as she gave him a playful nudge. “Don’t be rude”.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at them. “Why would he be able to hear the Planet?”

Barret hummed and crossed his arms, clearly happy to be able to impart some wisdom. “Oh yeah, you guys hadn’t joined us yet back then. Basically, Seph’s an Ancient. They can speak to the Planet, and they’re also called-”

“Cetra”, Vincent interrupted, his face set like stone.

Barret’s face fell. “How’d you know?”

Vincent tossed a stray lock of hair over his shoulder. “I'm a Turk. I know things”.

Before anyone could question that statement, Yuffie pointed to the top of the temple. “Look! It’s one of those black coat guys!”

Just as she said, they saw that there was indeed something black moving at the top.

“C’mon!” Cloud said and began to climb the stairs, followed by the others.

“... Do we have to?” Yuffie complained at the back. “There’s so many steps…” She still followed them, though, probably afraid to be left alone but too proud to admit it.

When Cloud finally reached the top, the cloaked person had fallen onto their knees. “Hey!” He reached out to the person, and immediately recoiled as he received some kind of small electric shock.

The person drew a wheezing breath. “Black… Materia…” they hissed before collapsing completely.

Tifa bent down and pulled at the coat to expose the person’s arm. “Look…”

Red XIII nodded. “It’s a number tattoo. Number nine”.

The sky suddenly seemed to flash green and then white, temporarily blinding all present, and when their eyes recovered, the cloaked person had disappeared.

Cloud looked around, doing a mental headcount of the party members, and then turned to the temple, where a stone doorway stood unobstructed and waiting. “Well…” he shrugged. “Guess we’d better go inside, then”.

It wasn’t completely dark inside the temple, but still dark enough compared to outside that their eyes needed time to adjust. Cloud squinted at the object further in. A stone slab? No wait, something was moving…

Seph moved past Cloud and tilted his head. “... Tseng?”

Cloud moved closer too and was finally able to distinguish a person. As Seph had said, it was Tseng. He was sitting slumped against some kind of altar, pressing a hand against a nasty-looking wound on his stomach.

Cloud crouched down beside him and tried to assess the damage. “You okay?”

Tseng tried to speak but ended up coughing instead. He drew a couple of shaky breaths. “I’ve… been had”.

Behind Cloud, Seph rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, no need to go into any specifics or anything”.

“Seph, be nice. He’s hurt”, Tifa chided.

Tseng shook his head and took a deep breath. “It's not the Promised Land… that Aerith’s searching for…”

Cloud felt his whole body tense. “Aerith? She’s here?”

Tseng nodded. “You’ll… see…” He coughed again and hissed at the pain. “Damn… Letting Seph go was the start… of my… bad luck… The President… was wrong…”

Seph crossed his arms and glared hotly at him. “Well, if you’d ask me for once, I’m real fuckin’ glad to be rid of the Shinra”.

Despite the pain, Tseng laughed weakly. “... That’s harsh. But then, you’ve always been… that way”. He bit back the pain and retrieved something from his pocket, holding it out to Cloud. “Place the Keystone… on the altar… Oh and… I’m sorry we stole it”.

Cloud nodded and grabbed the Keystone. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you some help”.

“Cloud!” Barret exclaimed, flabbergasted. “Why should we? The Shinra’s our enemy, remember?”

Tifa stepped forward, placing a hand on Barret’s arm. “Cloud’s right, we can't just leave him”. She swept her eyes over the group and gave a curt nod. “I say half of us get Tseng out of here. That way, they’ll also function as backup for the ones inside the temple”.

Cloud nodded. “Sounds good”.

Barret looked about to argue, but instead lowered his head is resignation. “Alright, fine”. Then he looked back up and jabbed his thumb toward the exit. “Then I say Ninja Girl stays out there with the Turk”.

Yuffie blustered and started to march toward him, but Barret held up a finger at her affronted face before she could protest.

“He’s weak and will need someone to protect him. And who better to do that than our strongest warrior?” He winked at Yuffie, who looked taken aback for a second before she puffed out her chest.

“Of course!” she exclaimed. “Since I’m the most valuable member of our  team, I, the Great Ninja Yuffie, am of most use protecting the weakest members!”

Tifa nodded. “Definitely!” She caught Barret’s meaningful look and added, “You'll need someone strong to carry Tseng, though, since you can’t fight and carry him at the same time. So, how about you stay with them, Barret? And maybe Cid, too?”

Barret gave her a thankful nod and Cloud couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment.

Cid shrugged. “I’ve done my share of luggin’ around deadweight, so sure”.

Red XIII poked his head out from behind Cid. “If I may, I’d rather not go into the temple. I’ve had my fill with cramped spaces, and they restrict my movements too much for me to fight properly”.

Cloud nodded. “I get you. Besides, your speed will do better outside”. He swept his eyes over the group. “We don't know what we'll find down there, so we’ll want a well-rounded team. Tifa and I are the main offense, Vincent has long range, Cait Sith has information, and Seph-”

Seph tossed his hair over his shoulder. “I have the good looks”.

"Indisputably”, Tifa agreed with a smile. “But seriously, chances are the Planet might try to speak with you in there, for all we know. That might give us some important info”.

Cloud surveyed the team again, making sure that everyone had some kind of orders to go by. “Everyone okay with this setup?”

A chorus of hums and nods confirmed this, and Barret walked over to Tseng and lifted him into his arms before moving to stand by the doorway.

“Ready when you are”, he said and Cloud nodded.

“Okay, then”. Cloud held out the Keystone over a round indent in the altar. “Ready? Three, two, one”. He placed the Keystone in the indent, and the markings on the altar began to glow blue. There was a flash of green and white, and then a roiling sensation in Cloud’s stomach as the world seemed to lurch and he dropped down through the floor. He heard Tifa’s surprised shout and Cait Sith’s slightly warbled voice as they fell through nothingness.

“Don’t worry, I think this is meant to happeeeeeen!”

Their speedy descent ended abruptly and surprisingly painlessly. One second they were falling, the next they were standing on solid ground in what seemed to be a labyrinth of stairs.

Vincent looked up and frowned. “No exit… So we can't turn back”.

Cloud nodded. “Then we press on”.

As their seemingly aimless march began, they created a formation with Cloud and Seph at the front, Tifa and Cait Sith behind them, and Vincent at the rear.

When they had walked silently for a while, Cloud glanced at Seph. “Are you really okay with leaving Tseng up there? Didn’t you want to stay with him?”

Seph shook his head. “I’ve known Tseng since we were kids, but he’s still workin’ for our enemy. Plus, he’s fucked me over one too many times…” He trailed off and sighed. “Still, there's not a lot of people I can say know me from that far back. In fact, there are probably only like, a handful of people in the world who really know me”.

Cloud considered this for a second. “I don’t think… you have to know someone’s past to know them”.

Seph huffed and kicked at a pebble. “I hope you’re right about that”.

~~

After a long trek through labyrinths and corridors that reminded Cloud of a certain film featuring David Bowie, Cloud’s team finally found themselves in a room where the walls were decorated with murals. Cloud surveyed the area, but there was still no sign of Aerith.

He groaned irritatedly before he shouted loudly out of frustration. “Where are you!? Aerith!”

There was a bright flash, like lightning, that made Seph cover his eyes, and Aerith suddenly appeared in front of them. Though, she didn’t really seem to be there. She looked more like a ghost, flickering irregularly, as if she would disappear any second.

She smiled and tilted her head to one side. “So cold. I am always by your side, Cloud”. She flickered more rapidly and then faded away.

Cloud reached out a hand toward her, confused. “No, wait!” He hurried over to the spot where she had just been, and with a flash, she appeared again further ahead, still flickering and almost shimmering.

Aerith’s eyes swept over the room. “Splendid. A lost treasure house of knowledge… The wisdom of the Ancients…” She raised her arms and swayed where she stood. “I am becoming one with the Planet”.

“... One with the Planet?” Cait Sith echoed.

Aerith huffed scornfully. “You fools. You’ve never even thought about it. All the Spirit Energy of this Planet. All its wisdom… knowledge… I will meld with it all. I will become one with it… It will become one with me”.

Seph threw her a suspicious glare. “... And you can do that, can you?”

Aerith smiled. “The way lies here. Only death awaits you now. But don’t worry. New Spirit Energy is born through death”. She opened her arms, as if inviting them into an embrace. “Soon, you will live again as a part of me”.

Cloud shook his head. “I don't understand what you're saying!”

Aerith laughed softly and faded away, and Cloud groaned and ran after her again.

Once again, she appeared with a flash a bit further along the room.

“Look”, she said and pointed to the part of the wall mural next to Cloud and the others.

Seph studied the mural with crossed arms. “At what?”

“At that which adds to the knowledge of what is to come…” Aerith explained, not at all helpfully, before she laughed and disappeared yet again.

Vincent tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms as he regarded the mural. “Are those people holding a big rock?”

Seph shrugged. “Looks like it to me”.

Tifa shook her head. “I think it looks more like some kind of… meteor… -ite?”

Cloud paid the mural little mind and instead hurried further along.

Just as the other times, Aerith appeared in front of him. This time, however, she was sitting slumped on the floor.

“… Mother… it's almost time. Soon... we will become one”.

“But _how?_ ” Cloud asked. “How do you plan on becoming one with the Planet?”

Aerith gave him a lopsided, condescending smile. “It’s simple, really. When a Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury. So, if there was an injury so massive that it threatened the very life of the Planet... just imagine how much energy would be gathered!” She threw her head back and laughed. “And I will be at the centre of that injury, taking that energy for my own!” She started to slowly lift from the floor as she spoke. “By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence! I will be reborn as a goddess to rule over all souls!”

Seph looked unimpressed. “You’d need somethin’ real big to injure a whole planet. Where’re you gonna get that?”

Aerith, now floating in midair, gave a suffering sigh. “For an Ancient, you sure have no insight in any of this, do you”. She twirled around in the air in a fashion that almost looked like dancing. “I already told you; the answer lies within the mural”. She looked at the mural and sighed wistfully. “A force so powerful it can wipe out entire planets. The Ultimate Destructive Magic… Meteor”. She twirled again and giggled excitedly. “All I need is the Black Materia, and it’ll be mine to control!”

Cloud took a step toward her and drew his sword. “That’ll never happen!”

In an instant, Aerith’s face fell, her eyes flashed like lightning and a sudden wind tore through the room like a tempest, knocking everyone off their feet. “ _Don’t tell me what to do!_ ” she screamed over the roar of the wind and then flew towards them like a speeding train.

There was another white flash and an impossibly loud ringing in Cloud’s ears, along with a voice that seemed almost hidden inside the ringing.

_“Wake up!”_

The tempest died down as abruptly as it had started, but the ringing still echoed in Cloud’s head. He got up, staggering unsteadily on his feet, and swiveled his head around. “Where’d you go!? _Aerith!_ ”

“Cloud!” Tifa’s voice cut through the ringing and Cloud felt her grab his shoulder from behind. “Cloud, calm down. She’s gone”. She turned him around to face her and took hold of his other arm, looking steadily into his eyes. “It’s okay”.

Cloud watched her with unfocused eyes. Behind her, he saw Vincent supporting Seph, who was pressing the heel of his hand to his eye.

“Cloud!”

Tifa’s voice seemed to snap him into focus again. Cloud blinked, and suddenly he felt like he could see clearer than he had in a long time. “I know what I have to do”.

Tifa looked surprised at his sudden change in attitude. “... You do?”

He nodded decidedly. “I have to get hold of the Black Materia”. He looked up at the mural depicting Meteor and nodded again. Yes, this was the right thing to do. “I have to keep it away from Aerith”.

Vincent raised an eyebrow. “And how are you going to do that?”

That, Cloud was not too sure of, and he was just about to admit it when Cait Sith interrupted him.

“Hey, what do you suppose this is?”

Everyone walked over to join him at the far end of the room, where what looked like a miniature model of the temple was mysteriously floating above a stone altar. How they hadn’t noticed it before was a mystery in its own right.

Seph, still rubbing at his forehead, leaned forward and squinted at the miniature. “Whatever it is, it’s definitely weird”.

Tifa reached down and ghosted her fingers over a series of figures carved into the stone. “I think there’s something written on it… But I can’t read it”. She turned a hopeful look to Vincent.

With a nod and a dramatic flourish, Vincent flapped his cape out of the way and crouched down to study the markings. After a couple of seconds, he announced his findings. “It says ‘Black Materia’”.

Seph tossed his hair impatiently. “Then what’re we waitin’ for? Let’s take it and get out of here”, he said and reached out toward the miniature.

Before he could touch it, however, Vincent’s hand shot up and grabbed Seph’s wrist. “No wait, there’s more…” He let his eyes follow the first few lines of symbols, a crease of concentration across his forehead. Then he did a double take and read everything a second time. And then a third time, the furrow in his forehead becoming progressively deeper. “It says… that the temple itself is the Black Materia”.

“... That’s fucked up”. Seph leaned down to peek over Vincent’s shoulder. “You sure you’re readin’ it right?”

Vincent gave him an offended look. “I’ll gladly let you have a go if you want”.

Seph smiled at him. “I’m fine with just watchin’, thanks”. He leaned to the side to peek around Vincent instead. “Looks like there’s a lot more text than what you’ve translated, though”.

“That’s because I’m still working out what it means”, Vincent sighed and pushed Seph’s head out of the way. “It’s written using rhyme, so it’s harder to translate”. He scrunched his nose. “Can’t see why they’d do that. They’re really awful rhymes”.

Seph sat back on his haunches and rolled his eyes. “Can you critique ancient poems later and actually read the shit now instead?”

“Seph”, Tifa chided him, “let him work in peace”.

Seph sighed and moved back from Vincent, occupying himself with undoing his braid and working through the worst tangles with his fingers, and then braiding and tying it off again.

After an awkward and concentrated silence, Vincent huffed. “If I understand this correctly, then there’s some sort of device inside the model. Each time you solve a puzzle, the model shrinks, along with the real temple, and the person holding it”.

“So…” Cloud began, “the one who solves the puzzles will be stuck inside the temple?”

Vincent frowned. “Crushed by it, more like”.

“Oh…”

Tifa scratched at her hairline. “Well, clearly the Ancients did their best to protect it. Shouldn’t that mean it’s safe in here?”

Cloud shook his head. “No. Aerith’s already found her way here, she’ll figure out a way to steal it sooner or later”. He pondered this and nodded to himself. Yes, she definitely would. “Human lives don’t seem to matter to her anymore. It’s nothing to her to throw away someone else's life to get the Black Materia. Besides, the Shinra might do the same. This place isn’t safe”. He was certain of it.

“Hey, that gives me an idea!” Cait Sith exclaimed excitedly. “We need to get the Materia out of here, yes? Then I can stay here and solve the puzzles while you all go outside!”

Cloud nodded slowly. “That would work…”

“But”, Tifa protested, “you’d be crushed!”

Cait Sith waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not like you’ll be sacrificing a human being. I’m only really a stuffed toy, anyway, operated through remote control. There are others like me to take my place”.

Tifa opened her mouth to protest again, but Cait Sith held up a hand.

“Just… think of this as me trying to redeem myself”, he said, before squinting up at them sadly.

Cloud nodded, offering his hand to Cait Sith to shake. “That’s all in the past now. I trust you”.

Cait Sith watched his hand for a moment before taking it, almost reverently. “... Thank you”.

Tifa gave him an affectionate pat on the head. “Good luck”.

Caith Sith shook her hand too. “Thank you”. Then he lightly pushed her towards the door. “Now go”.

They all nodded and started to walk away, when Cait Sith called out to them.

“And please, remember me?”

Tifa turned around and smiled at him. “Don’t worry. We will”.

~~

Once Cloud, Seph, Tifa and Vincent were safely outside, they watched as the Temple of the Ancients began to glow. The shrinking started out slow and then accelerated steadily until the temple had disappeared completely, leaving only a large hole in the ground with a small, black orb floating eerily near the bottom.

Cloud swallowed. Just looking at the Materia seemed to fill him with a sense of trepidation. “There it is…”

Vincent cocked his head toward the hole. “You go get it”, he said and readied his rifle while scanning their surroundings. “I’ll keep watch”.

Cloud nodded, and he, Seph and Tifa slid down the slope. He stopped by the Materia, plucking it carefully out of the air. It felt warm to the touch and made a tingling sensation travel up his arm, making the hair on that arm stand on end. “The Black Materia…” he said, his entire being suddenly understanding exactly why it had deserved that name. It hadn’t been named after it’s colour, but after the aura it exuded, he was certain of that. “As long as we have this, Aerith won’t be able to use Meteor”.

Tifa watched the Materia with a kind of cautious fascination. “Aerith said you need lots of Spiritual Energy to use it. How was she planning on getting that much energy?”

“A good question”, Vincent called down to them. “She must have a special place in mind. A place where there’s plenty of the Planet’s energy…”

“Like the Promised Land?” Tifa suggested.

Vincent nodded. “Makes sense”.

Cloud frowned up at him. “But… Aerith isn’t an Ancient, so she shouldn’t even be able to find the Promised Land, right?

A giggle suddenly carried across the open space. “...Oh, but I have”.

There was a lightning-like flash and suddenly, Aerith was hovering in front of them, enveloped in a whirlwind that warbled her voice.

“You underestimate me. You see, I’m far superior to the Ancients”. She smiled sweetly and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I have gained all of their knowledge, but unlike them, I will put it to good use”. She laughed and threw her arms out to the sides. “I will create the future!”

Tifa clenched her fists. “We won’t let you do that!” she shouted. “The future isn’t only yours!”

Aerith gave Tifa an amused look. “Oh? Do you really think you can stop me?”

There was another white flash and the ringing was back in Cloud’s head, stronger than before. Behind him, Seph groaned and doubled over while Tifa hurried to support him.

“What’s going on?” she asked, a stunned and horrified look on her face. “Cloud!? Seph!?”

Seph groaned again and pressed his hands against his ears. “The… noise… Make it… stop!”

While Cloud clutched at his head in pain, Aerith slowly floated down to stand on the ground.

“Good morning”, she said sweetly and walked toward Cloud, the ringing in his head growing louder with each step she took, making it harder and harder to think.

“Sh… shut up!” he gasped, trying his best to stay on his feet.

Aerith gave him a soft, gentle smile and held out a hand. “It’s time to wake up now”.

As if in slow motion, Cloud watched his hand reach out toward her. Something dark shimmered in his grip, and then he saw himself open his hand, dropping the Black Materia right into Aerith’s palm.

Her hand closed around the Materia and Cloud could hear her satisfied smile through her voice. “... Well done”. In a heartbeat, a powerful gust of wind had shot her up into the air and she was gone with another flash, followed by a clap of thunder.

The searing pain disappeared along with her, and Cloud stumbled before he fell onto his knees, staring quietly up at the sky and trying to understand what had just happened. He heard a thud and then Tifa’s voice. She sounded worried, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. Then there was a sort of skidding sound and Vincent’s voice, just as warbled and unintelligible, joined Tifa’s.

The hand that suddenly landed on Cloud’s shoulder made him jump, but he calmed down when he realised that it was Tifa. As he looked up at her, her voice gradually became clearer.

“-oud! Are you okay!?”

Cloud opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again. He lifted his hands, holding them up in front of himself, watching them intently. They were empty. “... The Materia…” he croaked and swallowed to clear his throat. “The Black Materia… Did I… give it to Aerith?” He curled up and put his head in his hands. “What did I do…” He peeked up through his fingers at Tifa’s concerned face. “Please tell me, Tifa”.

She smiled sadly and sat down on the ground, pulling Cloud into a warm hug. “Cloud… be strong, okay?”

Cloud curled up even tighter, pressing his face to Tifa’s shoulder. “What’ve I done!?”

“Cloud…” Tifa murmured while she petted his hair gently. “You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not your fault”.

Cloud wanted to believe her. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. “No!” he exclaimed angrily and broke free of the hug before pushing himself onto his feet. “It was me!” He felt his body boiling with anger. Anger at himself. At his own weakness. “I did it, it was my fault! I…” He trailed off as the world seemed to go out of focus all of a sudden. He saw Tifa reach out toward him, as if in a dream. “I’m-”

And then the whole world went white.

~~

It felt like he was floating. Whether he really was or not was hard to tell. Where was he? How’d he get here? He couldn’t remember…

Remember… Were there more things he couldn’t remember? When had that started happening? He didn’t know. He didn’t remember. Was this a dream? What if all that had happened was a dream?

 _If everything’s a dream, don’t wake me_.

Out of nowhere, his body lurched and he was suddenly standing in a forest. He could see the sunlight through the trees, feel the soft carpet of fallen leaves beneath his feet, smell the freshness of the air. But there was no sound. No birds, no wind. Just silence.

Then, Seph’s voice echoed through the air. “Aerith’s going to the City of the Ancients”.

Cloud turned around on the spot, but he couldn’t see anything other than trees.

“It’s okay, though”, Seph continued. “I’ll take care of her”.

Cloud’s eyes swiveled around, trying desperately to catch sight of Seph. “Why you? Can’t all of us go together?” He turned around, and there was Seph, casually leaning back against a tree.

Seph shook his head. “I’m the only Cetra left. It has to be me”. Then he flashed a grin. “Don’t worry, I know where to go now. It’s like I’m being led by something…” He trailed off and huffed a laugh. “Maybe the Planet finally decided to speak with me after all”.

“Seph…” Cloud tried to walk closer to him, but his body seemed glued to the spot. “Seph, please don’t go…”

Seph gave him a long look that was impossible to read. Finally, he opened his mouth, and for one split second, Cloud thought that he might have actually convinced him. Then, he sighed and pushed off from the tree, turning his back to Cloud. “I’ll come back when it’s all over”.

The ‘I promise’ hung heavy and unsaid in the air as Seph began to walk away along a path that seemed to open in front of him and close behind him.

“Seph?” Cloud began walking again, and when that yielded no results, he broke into a run. “Seph!” While Cloud sprinted in place, he watched as the last glimpse of Seph was obscured by the trees, and he was gone.

Cloud didn't know for how long he ran before he finally gave up and simply stood there in the forest, alone.

A soft breeze suddenly made the trees rustle, and Aerith descended through the canopies, a smile on her face as she looked in the direction of where Seph had been heading.

“Oh, he does like interfering, doesn’t he”. She giggled and turned to Cloud, an intense green glow in her eyes. “Well, we’d better stop him, then”. The green in her eyes almost seemed to pulsate, and Cloud found himself drawn to it, literally.

He planted his heels in the ground, trying to stop himself from moving forward, but the force pulling at him was too strong to resist, and his heels left long tracks in the leaves as he skidded forward.

As he got closer, the green glow pulsated more clearly and almost seemed to swirl inside Aerith’s irises, like a liquid. An unusually viscous liquid, shimmering green and washing over him, submerging him, drowning him.

_“Wake up!”_

Cloud awoke with a start, sitting upright and fighting against the thing holding down his legs before he realised that it was a blanket. His eyes darted around the room and he breathed heavily, the feeling of choking on that green liquid still vivid in his mind.

“Hey, it’s okay, calm down”.

Something heavy landed on his shoulder, and it took Cloud a moment to understand that it was a hand.

“Cloud, you’re alright”, the owner of the hand said, and it took Cloud another moment to connect the voice to a face. By then, the hand had left the shoulder and Barret was poking his head out through the door. “Tifa! He’s awake!” he shouted before retracting his head and returning to Cloud, retaking his position on a chair by the bed. “Sorry I woke ya up. Looked like you was havin’ a nightmare”.

“I did”, Cloud responded hoarsely. “Thanks”.

The door creaked and Tifa walked across the room, sitting down on a second chair. “Hey. How’re you feeling?”

Cloud shook his head and sighed. “I… don’t know”.

Barret nodded. “Figures”. He and Tifa shared a hard-to-read look, and Tifa sighed and leaned forward.

“Cloud. Seph’s gone”.

Cloud nodded slowly. “I know. He’s going to the City of the Ancients”.

Barret frowned. “By himself?”

Cloud began picking at his sheets. “Only the Ancients can save us from Meteor. And Seph’s the only Ancient left…”

“Well, he won’t stay that way if he tries to face off with Aerith on his own”, Barret huffed before he sighed deeply and facepalmed. “That guy…” He shook his head and shrugged. “Well, guess we’ll have to go save him from himself then”.

“There’s… one more thing”.

Barret and Tifa looked at Cloud expectantly.

“I think Aerith... already knows”.

There was silence as this news sank in, and then Barret practically flew to his feet.

“What!? Then why’re you still sittin’ around!?”

Tifa nodded. “Yeah, let’s go, Cloud”.

Cloud curled up and shook his head. “No… I’m afraid I might lose it again. If Aerith comes near me… I might-” He was interrupted by a slap on the shoulder.

“Hey”, Barret said with a serious face, “don't gimme that shit. We all got problems, but we’re on this train now, and there ain't no gettin’ off till we get to the end of the line”.

“We’ve come this far”, Tifa agreed. “Are you really telling us you wouldn’t settle up with Aerith after all this?”

Cloud curled up tighter. _I’m too scared._

Tifa let out a puff of air and her voice grew softer. “Not even to save Seph?”

That made Cloud glance up at her, and the sad look on her face made something constrict around his heart. Of course. He wasn’t the only one who was worried about Seph.

He looked down at his hands and took a deep breath.

“Okay. I’ll try”.


	18. Reunited

“Wait”.

Everyone turned to look at Cloud, who was watching the crossroads that they had just reached.

Vincent’s eyes darted around warily and he reached for his rifle. “What is it?”

“Seph’s here. And Aerith”. Cloud closed his eyes and nodded. “I can feel it”.

“Then we have to hurry”, Tifa said and moved her weight from one foot to the other. “If they’re both already here, something terrible could happen at any moment”.

“Which way should we go, though?” Cid asked and scratched at his stubble.

Cloud swept his eyes over their three alternatives, trying to kickstart his gut feeling. One road in particular seemed to catch his eye, maybe due to the fact that it ended in what looked like a gigantic coral reef. “We go right”, he decided, and his gut feeling agreed.

“Alright!” Barret exclaimed and resumed walking, closely followed by Yuffie. “Time to go save our damsel in distress”.

They continued along that road until they entered the reef-like structure and found themselves looking up at an enormous conch by a pond. As certainly as if he had done this hundreds of times before, Cloud led the others into the conch and down into a shimmering hole at the bottom.

After descending through the hole, Yuffie looked around and let out a low whistle. “Woah, trippy~”

Cloud had to agree with her, and had he not been so certain that someone’s life was on the line, he might have stopped for a moment to marvel at the fact that they were now apparently underwater, yet still absolutely dry and able to breathe.

Their footsteps echoed as the party hurried down the long glass staircase that seemed to hang freely in the air, then through a castle-like structure with stained glass windows, and finally down a ladder. As they worked their way down the ladder, Cloud spotted a person on some sort of platform in the middle of the area. A person with silver hair.

“That’s Seph!” Tifa exclaimed above him, sounding immensely relieved.

Cloud jumped down the last part of the way and ran to the edge of the platform he had ended up on.

“Seph!” he called excitedly and jumped across the gap between their platforms. They’d done it! They found him before-

Cloud’s thoughts suddenly seemed to grind to a halt, the joy and relief from finding Seph washing away and being replaced by a sort of… emptiness. Like in a dream, he saw his own arm, now holding his sword, and felt his body tense. Somewhere deep inside, a flicker of dread ignited, along with the realisation that he was about to swing his sword at Seph.

“No… You can’t make me…” he grunted weakly even as his arms lifted the sword behind his shoulder.

“Cloud! You have to fight it!” Tifa’s voice was muffled, and Cloud _tried_ to do what she said, but he had no control over his body.

With absolute horror, he felt his body finally swing the sword down toward Seph’s back, and he heard Tifa’s shout of warning as if through a thick fog.

There was an echoing clang as Cloud’s sword was deflected, and the shock through his arms from the impact snapped him out of whatever trance he had been in. He looked up at Seph, who was now facing him, sword in hand, and giving him a disapproving look.

“What part of ‘I’ll take care of her’ don’t you get?” Seph huffed. Then he turned his eyes upwards, seemingly addressing the whole chamber itself. “Alright, I’m here! What d’you want from me?” His gaze moved across the room, irritation growing clearer on his face. “What happens now?”

Without warning, the whole chamber was lit up by an immensely bright flash, and a bolt of lightning rushed down from above, striking Seph with a crackling hiss followed by a deafening thunderclap.

Cloud watched, stunned and horrified, as Seph’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limply to the floor.

For several seconds, everything was perfectly still and quiet while Cloud stared at Seph’s unmoving body. Then, something inside him snapped and he rushed forward, throwing himself onto his knees beside Seph.

“Seph! Seph, please!” He grabbed Seph's shoulders, gritting his teeth at the residual static that travelled up through his arms at the touch. “Please no”. He shook Seph by the shoulders, knowing full well the futility of it but unable to stop himself. “Please... This can’t be real...”

A soft breeze seemed to stroke his now tearstained cheek and he turned his head to watch as Aerith floated down toward him.

She smiled sweetly at him and spoke in a gentle, almost comforting voice. “Don’t worry, Cloud. He’s becoming part of the Planet’s energy as we speak”. She giggled and clasped her hands together. “The Promised Land is waiting for me up North. There, I will become a new being by uniting with the Planet!” she exclaimed and did a joyful spin in the air. Then she looked down at Cloud with a look that was only vaguely reminiscent of pity. “Don't cry”. She nodded to Seph. “He will become part of me, too”.

“‘Don’t cry’?” Cloud repeated softly through his tears even as his body began to shake with anger. How dared she? How could she stand there and say that!? “How _dare_ you!?” he practically exploded up at her, momentarily void of any sense for self-preservation. “You don’t care about anything other than that damn plan of yours, and I’m sick of it! Seph’s _gone_ and you’re telling me not to cry!?”

Aerith tilted her head and studied him with an amused face. “Oh? Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings, too?”

Cloud bristled and shot up from the floor, glaring daggers at her. “Of course I have fucking feelings! Who do you think I am!?”

Aerith laughed and shook her head. “There’s no need to act like you’re sad or angry. Because, Cloud. You are-” She cut off her own sentence and tilted her head, furrowing her brow in concentration and her eyes fixed on nothing in particular. Then she giggled and spun around again. The wind that was surrounding her suddenly started to grow stronger, until it had formed a tornado around her. Cloud could barely see Aerith smile and wave at him before she shot upwards like a bullet and disappeared.

Cloud shouted after her - he wasn't sure what exactly, but he hoped that it could at least pass for obscenities - and slashed at the air with his sword. Then, he stilled as he spotted something near the ceiling. He squinted up against the light shimmering on the water’s surface up there. It looked like something was falling, becoming bigger as it got closer. If he looked really closely it looked kind of like…

Oh no. He recognised that thing.

The gelatinous mass landed on the floor with a wet smack and began to convulse and expand, taking on a more solid shape.

Cloud readied his stance and twirled his sword impatiently. “JENOVA…” he ground out through his teeth while the others hurried over to join him. “You picked the wrong time to pick a fight”.

~~

The jelly-like substance writhed, losing its shape and shrinking down into a small glop that could almost be identified as a tentacle. Cloud felt an immense urge to stomp on it.

“So…” Cid started, scratching at the back of his neck, “what do we do now?”

Barret pulled Yuffie closer to himself, hiding her face. From the way she was clutching at his shirt, she didn’t seem to mind. Barret sighed deeply. “We should at least… bury him”.

Red XIII looked around and frowned. “How? This place is made entirely of rock”.

Cloud’s eyes did a sweep of the chamber until they stopped at the bottom. “… The water”, he decided, and when no complaints were made, he grabbed onto Seph and did his best to lift him. However, with all anger having seeped out and left him a husk of silent tears, he barely managed to lift Seph’s upper body, meaning that his long legs dragged behind as he walked.

A soft touch on his shoulder made him look up at Tifa.

“Here, I’ll help”, she offered and grabbed Seph’s legs, nodding at him to keep moving.

Together, they carried Seph down the steps to the water while the others gathered by the shoreline.

They waded out about chest deep, stopping right before a point where the water suddenly became much deeper.

Tifa took a deep breath and looked at Cloud. “You ready?”

Cloud nodded, before changing his mind and shaking his head instead. “No, wait”.

He reached up with one hand to the pink ribbon tied to Seph’s braid. His fingers closed around the soft fabric and he pulled it free, watching as the braid gradually unfurled and the separate strands started floating on the surface of the water. He clutched the ribbon tightly in his hand and nodded again. “I’m ready”.

Tifa took another deep breath. “Okay. Three, two… one”.

They both let go simultaneously and watched as Seph floated for a moment, his hair creating a halo around his head, before he slowly started to sink.

Cloud heard Tifa choke back a sob and then she hooked an arm around his shoulders, squeezing gently. He in turn put one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

They stayed like that for a long time, the only sound being choked sobs that echoed in the emptiness.


	19. Memories on Record

“Do you think this is legal? Snoopin’ around in people’s houses like this”.

Cid shot Yuffie an unimpressed look. “Didn’t take you for one who worries about bein’ legal”.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. “I told you, I did it all for Wutai. ‘Sides, there’s no Materia in here. I already checked”.

Cid snorted out a surprised laugh, catching the unlit cigarette that fell from his lips with his hand before stepping forward to ruffle Yuffie‘s hair. “You’re the most honest thief I know, I’ll give ya’ that”.

Barret heaved an annoyed sigh from further inside the house. “It’s pitch black in here! What’re we lookin’ for, anyway?” There was a sudden bang, followed by a surprised, “Well shit, a computer!”

“Nicely done, lad!” Cait Sith exclaimed before jumping out of his mech and onto a chair by the computer. He swiftly turned the archaic-looking thing on and was soon greeted by a desktop background of a blue sky above a green field, the whole thing almost entirely covered in folders. “No password”, he tutted, before he began rooting through the folders. He gave a small whistling sound. “There really ought to be, though. This is some border-line confidential stuff, this”.

Cloud, along with Tifa, Yuffie and Cid, felt that this discovery was more interesting than what they might find on the cluttered tables, and gravitated toward the computer, forming a human wall around Cait Sith while he continued to methodically go through the folders.

Barret, who was still standing where he had rammed his knee into the computer, suddenly pointed at a folder in the upper right corner of the screen. “What about that one? The ‘Family’ one”, he suggested. “Might tell us who lived here”.

Cait Sith hummed approvingly and clicked the ‘Family’ folder, revealing hundreds of video files. Obviously intrigued, he clicked the first one.

 _“-thing even recording? Oh, it is!”_ a man’s voice, slightly warbled through the old computer speakers, said, followed by the camera sweeping across the room before stopping on a brown-haired woman. The video zoomed out, then too far in, and then out again, finally managing to focus accurately on the woman’s face. _“Anyway, welcome to our new home! This is my lovely wife, who seems to be reading a book”_ , he narrated, making the woman put down her book and give him a confused smile.

 _“I thought you had no need of further information”_ , she said, her voice carrying warmth even through the speakers.

“That’s Professor Gast”, Vincent spoke over the recorded man’s answer, his cape billowing as he strode over to join the others at the computer.

Barret looked between the woman on the screen and Vincent. “You know her, then?”

Vincent shook his head. “Not her; him. She’s Ifalna. The voice is Professor Gast. He worked for the Shinra as their Cetra expert”.

Tifa folded her arms over her chest. “Ifalna… Why does that name sound so familiar?”

She got her answer when the camera suddenly swiveled around again and focused on a small child playing on the floor. A child with silver hair.

_“And this is our beautiful son, Seph! Sephy, can you say ‘hi’ to the camera for daddy?”_

Cloud felt his throat tighten when the recording of Seph turned his impossibly green eyes toward the camera.

He regarded the camera with the kind of open confusion that only children dared show, before smiling brightly and waving at it. _“Hi, daddy!”_

The camera jolted, presumably because Gast was waving back at him. _“Hi, Sephy! So, what do you think of our new house?”_

Seph looked thoughtful for a moment as he rearranged his toys on the carpet. _“Running on stairs is no-no”_ , he said, apparently entirely convinced that this was an adequate answer.

Gast laughed. _“Right you are, Seph! Now, do you want to tell me what you’re playing?”_

Seph watched his collection of toys before squinting back at the camera suspiciously. _“No”._

Back on the other side of the screen, Tifa let out a choked laugh and dried her eye with the heel of her hand.

The video cut off with Gast laughing, leaving a horrible silence and sense of emptiness in its wake.

Cait Sith scrolled downward, reading over the file names as he went. “If we find the most recent one, we might find out what happened to them”, he mumbled. Finally, he reached the last video in the folder, which had the word ‘birthday’ attached to the end of the default file name, and clicked on it.

 _“-birthday to you!”_ Gast and Ifalna sang from off camera, cheering while the video zoomed in on Seph’s delighted face.

As soon as the singing stopped, Seph reached out with a hand and retrieved a cream-covered strawberry, immediately popping it in his mouth.

 _“Seph, no”_ , Ifalna chided, _“you can’t take things off the cake like that, you’ve got to cut a piece and put it on a plate”._

Seph looked to the left of the camera and frowned. _“But I take the stawberry off the piece after”._

_“... He has a point, Ifalna”._

_“Dear, please don’t encourage him. Anyway, Sephy, do you know how old you are now?”_

_“Five!”_ Seph exclaimed and held up three fingers on one hand and two on the other.

 _“Well done!”_ Gast cheered, and then mumbled to himself. _“Weird, there’s a flashing red light on the camer-”_

The video cut off suddenly, probably due to the camera running out of batteries.

“Is there-” Cloud started and had to clear his throat around the lump that seemed stuck there. “Is there more?”

Cait Sith frowned and pressed a combination of keys, bringing up a search window. “That was the most recent one in that folder, but I’ll try to look for more from that date onward”.

Tifa nodded. “Then the rest of us will look for that camera. There might still be something on it”.

“You mean this thing is a camera?”

Everyone turned to Yuffie, who was turning what looked like one of the first video cameras ever produced over in her hands.

Tifa gasped with excitement. “That’s gotta be it! Where’d you find it?” She took the camera from Yuffie and tried to turn it on.

“Already tried that. No luck, battery’s out”, Yuffie pointed out.

Tifa sighed and began to search for any sort of way to get into the storage of the camera.

“Also, here’s the connecting cable”, Yuffie added helpfully and held out a cable, which Tifa took with a quick ‘thanks’ before plugging it into the computer.

After a couple of seconds and an overworked ‘whirr’ or two, the computer recognised the camera and a folder popped open. In it was a single video file.

“I can’t find anything else on the harddrive”, Cait Sith reported, “so that’s gotta be it”.

Cloud nodded, willing his voice to carry evenly. “Play it”.

The video started with a still shot of a cluttered table. Then, the camera swept to the side and Gast’s voice spoke loudly.

_“Ifalna, darling! I got the camera working again! The batteries were empty, can you believe it?”_

_“That’s great, dear”_ , came Ifalna’s muffled voice from somewhere off camera. _“But, do you really need to film him every day? If you keep doting on him like that-”_

 _“Me? Doting? Definitely!”_ Gast laughed. _“Sephy, come over here, daddy got the camera working again!”_

 _“No, busy!”_ Seph’s voice was even more muffled than Ifalna’s.

 _“Oh? What are you doing?”_ Gast asked and the camera jolted as he began walking.

_“Hide and seek!”_

_“Hide and seek, huh? And who is doing the hiding and who is doing the seeking?”_

_“You’re hiding, and I’m seeking!”_

Gast laughed. _“Really? Then I better hurry up and hide quickly”._

 _“Too late!”_ Seph’s voice was suddenly much louder, and the camera jolted again before turning downward, where Seph was holding onto Gast’s leg with a victorious grin on his face. _“I win!”_

Gast laughed loudly and ruffled Seph’s hair. _“You sure do, everytime”._

There was a knock on the door and Ifalna’s muffled voice was barely caught on the video. _“I’ll get it… Yes, how can- No! It’s them! No, please-”_

There was a crash and then heavy steps thunked against the floor.

The voice that cut through the silence made shivers run down Cloud’s spine.

_“Long time no see, Professor Gast. Now, I believe you have something that belongs to the Shinra”._

The camera moved erratically, showing glimpses of Gast maneuvering Seph behind himself and then the picture stayed pointed to the floor. _“Hojo...”_

Hojo laughed, or at least attempted a hollow version of it. _“Quite the search you put me up for. Two years it took me to find you, Ifalna... or should I say, Cetra”._

 _“Don’t come any closer!”_ Gast warned. _“I’ve severed all ties with the Shinra, you have no right to be here!”_

 _“And you have no right to withhold a specimen out of your own twisted desires”,_ Hojo retorted, his voice filled with disdain.

There were light, hurried steps and then Ifalna spoke up again. _“Please, stop. I’m the one you want, right? I’ll come with you, I’ll do anything you say, but please, leave Gast and Seph out of this”._

 _“Seph? Is that the name of the offspring?”_ Hojo almost sounded disgusted at the thought. _“That thing is a mutant half-breed, at best. I have nothing to do with such a creature”._

 _“Do_ not _speak of our son that way!”_ Gast roared before the camera suddenly surged forward, stopping with a thud and an offended _‘oof’_. The camera fell to the floor, landing on its side but still filming as Gast shielded a wide-eyed Seph.

 _“Don’t worry, Ifalna”_ , Gast shouted, _“I'll take care of this! You take Seph and run!”_ With that, he charged in the direction of the camera, fist raised and letting out a battle cry.

Hojo heaved a suffering sigh. _“Ugh, you soldiers are useless! Give me that!”_

There was the unmistakable sound of a gunshot, followed by a heavy thud. And then, Ifalna screamed.

_“How could you!? Our son is right there! I would’ve gone with you, there was no need! There was no need for a child to have to see that!”_

_“Oh, do be quiet”_ , Hojo sighed. _“And you two. Do the Shinra pay you to simply stand around all day? Seize them!”_

While all of this happened, Seph had been standing perfectly still where Gast had left him, staring at something behind the camera. _“... Daddy...?”_

 _“Come on, kid”_ , a new voice said, and an infantryman walked into view, kneeling beside Seph and taking his hand. “ _It’s time to go”._

Seph let himself be led by the infantryman, but his eyes remained glued to whatever he was looking at off camera. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t hard to guess what. Or who.

For a moment, the only sounds were Hojo’s footsteps and typing on a keyboard. Then, there was muffled shouting and hurried steps, and the camera suddenly spun across the floor, like it had been kicked, finally coming to a stop beneath some kind of furniture.

_“Hojo! Sir! They’ve escaped!”_

Cloud could envision exactly what face Hojo made at that information. _“Escaped?”_ Hojo said, calmly. _“And how, exactly, did that happen, if I may ask?”_

_“They uh... They bit us, sir”._

_“... They bit you?”_

_“Yes... sir”._

Hojo let out a long, suffering sigh. _“The military sure is nothing like it used to be. Well, they can’t have gotten far. Orders to pursue. Chop chop”._

 _“Sir!”_ The infantryman stomped off, followed by slower footsteps that must have been Hojo’s, and then the sound of the door closing.

The rest of the video was just static.

Everyone looked blankly at the dark screen, unable to really believe what they had just seen.

“He... Hojo, he-” Tifa whispered, utterly shocked.

Barret nodded slowly. “Seph was five”, he said quietly and took a deep breath. “That’s just... one year older than... Mar-” His voice broke, and he rubbed at his eyes with his hand.

Cloud felt like he should be feeling more sad than he was. But the only thing he felt was that same emptiness as when Seph-

He shook his head, his mind set. “You know what this means”, he said, surprised at how steady his voice sounded.

Everyone else turned to look at him, the same sheen of sadness in their eyes.

Cloud reached into his pocket, pulling out Seph’s ribbon. “We’re gonna find Hojo. And when we do…”  He paused and reached over his shoulder to tie the ribbon to the hilt of his sword, “we’ll give ‘im hell”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so fun and so heartbreaking to write, honestly :'(  
> Also the draft title was "Fuck Hojo tbh" and I feel like that should be mentioned


	20. Let It Snow

As soon as they stepped out of Gast’s house, a voice called out from across the small village.

_“There they are, hurry!”_

The voice was answered in unison by two other voices. _“Yes, ma’am!”_

There was the sound of heavy boots running in snow, and Elena appeared from behind a house, followed by two Shinra infantrymen. Elena skidded to a halt in front of Cloud, one of her boots landing on a hidden patch of ice, nearly causing her to slip and fall. She waved her arms wildly to stay on her feet before shoving her hand, encased in a thick mitten, in Cloud’s face.

“Cloud-” she wheezed, short of breath, before frowning at her hand and pulling off her mitten to point dramatically at Cloud. “I won't let you go any further!”

Cloud shrugged. “Then I won’t ask you for permission”.

Elena disregarded his comment and instead waved her finger accusingly at him. “You really got some guts, doin' my boss in like that!”

Cloud frowned. “Your boss? You mean Tseng?”

Tifa shook her head. “No, you’ve got it wrong. That wasn't us, Aerith did it”.

Elena waved her finger in a more threatening way. “No! Don't think you can fool me, liars!”

“We’re not lying!” Yuffie piped up. “It really was Aerith! We’re the ones who carried him out of there to save him!”

Elena stomped her boot, which made a dull thud in the thick layer of snow. “Don't you try to act innocent! I know you did it, and I'll never forget it!”

Cloud sighed. There really was no getting to her once she’d made up her mind, was there.

Elena huffed, taking their silence as a challenge. “Looks like talking alone won't cut it”.

“Yeah, you’re livin’ proof o’ that”, Barret muttered.

Elena clenched her hand into a fist and drew her arm back, completely ignoring Barret. “Then you're going to have to feel some pain!”

Cloud didn’t even have time to register what was happening before he felt a forceful tug on the back of his jacket and the world seemed to tip over as he was flung backwards. Yep, this was it. He really was going to die from a punch to the face, wasn’t he.

He felt his back connect with something sturdy and heard a surprised ‘oomph’, and the world tipped over once again before stopping.

Cloud took a deep breath. He was alive. Now that that had been established, Cloud noted that he had been flung right into Barret, who had fallen on his arse due to the impact, and that he was now half-sitting on Barret’s lap. He also noted that - miraculously enough - his face didn’t hurt.

Grateful but confused, he looked up at the scene in front of him.

Tifa was standing between him and Elena, who looked like she was trying not to show how impressed she was.

“You… him… My punch…” she stuttered in shock. Then she shook her head and her voice took on a more professional air. “Well. You have good reflexes, I’ll give you that”.

Tifa nodded in acknowledgement and gave Elena a quick smile. “You have good form. That punch would’ve knocked him right out”.

Despite herself, Elena smiled brightly at the praise. “Thanks!” Then she seemed to consider something before coming to a conclusion. “Tell you what. I’ll let you guys get a head start out of here”. She narrowed her eyes at Tifa. “And then, the next time we meet, you and I will have a match of our own”.

Tifa nodded. “Let’s leave the boring fights to the boys”.

Elena nodded and offered her hand. “Exactly”.

Tifa grasped her hand, and they both got a concentrated look on their faces as the tendons in the backs of their hands flexed and their grip on the other’s hand tightened.

Finally, after a long and tense silence, they simultaneously let go and stepped back, and Elena turned without a word and marched the bewildered infantrymen back toward the entrance to the village.

Yuffie drew in a deep, audible breath. “Okay, that was pretty cool and all, _but..._ ” She paused and looked around, obviously weighing their options of sneaking past the now very probably guarded village entrance. “How exactly are we gonna get out of here?”

Cloud shrugged, but Tifa grinned, her eyes on a sign fixed to the wall of the inn. “Say… anyone feel like snowboarding?”

~~

Cloud skidded to a stop at the base of the slope, somehow managing to do so without falling.

As he triumphantly looked around for someone to share in his success, a high-pitched scream reached him, growing stronger and stronger at a rapid pace.

Cloud, already unsteady on his feet, had no chance of remaining standing when Yuffie collided with his back at what felt like the speed of light and sent the both of them flying a good few metres. They landed in a heap in the snow, groaning at their aching bodies.

“Ugh, Cloud! Why would you even stop there when there’re others behind you?” Yuffie complained and tore her helmet off her head, before she bent her legs to try to reach the clasps around her thick boots.

Cloud let out a pained sound when Yuffie’s elbow connected with his ribs. “Why would you go faster than a bloody race car when it’s your first time snowboarding?”

Yuffie made a point of looking at him to roll her eyes. “‘Cause no one taught me how to slow down. What’s your excuse, mountain boy?”

Cloud shrugged. “I was always more of a skier”. He reached down to unclasp one of his feet, managing to scoot far enough to the side to untangle himself from Yuffie and stand back up. He removed his own helmet before he looked around again. “Are we the first ones down?”

Yuffie’s - probably sarcastic - answer was interrupted by a shout.

_“Outta the way, you numbskulls!”_

Cloud had just enough time to awkwardly shuffle out of the way before Cid zoomed past them, continuing on a fair distance before managing to turn his board enough to semi-break. This meant that he started to turn in a large circle while he lost momentum, until he finally came to a stop at the edge of the surrounding woods. He dug around in his pockets for his lighter and lit a new cigarette before sitting down to unclasp his boots so he could go join the others.

Cid’s descent was followed by that of Red XIII and Cait Sith, who had opted for sharing a snow sledge. Using the arms of his mech, Cait Sith made the sledge go around Cloud and Yuffie and stop beneath them. He made a delighted sound and waved his cat arms excitedly. “Ooh, I havnae done this in ages! Let’s go again!”

Red XIII stepped out of the sledge unsteadily. “I’ll pass, if it’s all the same to you”.

The corner of Cloud’s mouth twitched, the closest he’d gotten to a smile since… He shook his head. No use thinking about that. _Please, let’s not think about that._

He was pulled out of those thoughts when Yuffie gasped in admiration.

“Wow, those two are _good_!”

Cloud followed her line of sight up the slope until he spotted the ones she was talking about.

Tifa and Vincent were hurtling down the slope, evidently fully in control of their boards, their hair flowing behind them as they both aimed for a ramp.

Tifa reached the ramp first and flew into the air, bending her knees and her upper body back to grab onto the heelside edge on her board while holding her free hand up in a peace sign.

Vincent followed suit, lifting off from the ramp and pulling off a textbook backwards somersault before landing with perfect form.

He and Tifa continued going straight at first to lose some momentum before they turned their boards and began traversing in a symmetrical pattern, until they came to a stop in front of Cloud and the others.

Tifa removed her helmet, eyes shining with glee, and she held up a hand for a high-five, which Cloud and Yuffie reciprocated with varying degrees of admiration on their faces. Then, Tifa turned to Vincent expectantly, and he regarded her hand for a moment before smacking his own into it with a dull thud.

“Yeah!” Tifa whooped and threw her hair over her shoulder. “That was so much fun! We’ve _gotta_ go again some time!” She turned back to Vincent and gave him an appraising look. “I’d no idea you knew how to snowboard!”

Vincent calmly moved his ski goggles up to his forehead, and his lips twitched. “I’m a Turk, I know things”.

Tifa laughed and reached down for another enthusiastic high-five from Yuffie. “Everyone get down okay?”

Yuffie nodded. “Totes! Hey, can you teach me to do that cool thing you did? Please?”

While Tifa explained something about practise and perfection, Cloud surveyed the rest of the group, doing a mental headcount. Someone was missing. “Hey, guys. Where’s Barret?”

Exactly on cue, something appeared from behind a ramp high up on the slope. Cloud could only make out what - or rather, who - it was from the piercing orange colour of his helmet.

“That’s… Barret, right?” Cait Sith asked.

Cloud nodded as they all regarded the incredibly slowly growing speck of orange.

“He sure is taking his sweet time, ain’t he”, Cid observed.

“He sure is”, Yuffie agreed.

They continued to watch the orange blob in silence until, finally, Barret had come close enough to actually kind of make out.

Then, Tifa narrowed her eyes and squinted disbelievingly up at him. “Wait… Is he really…”

Her question was answered when Barret came even closer and his situation was finally clearly visible.

Tifa and Yuffie both covered their mouths to hide their giggles, Cid let out an amused snort, and even Vincent huffed good-naturedly as Barret slowly skidded down toward them, board first, and on his arse.

After what felt like an eternity, Barret’s snowboard finally hit Tifa’s boots and he stopped, sitting absolutely still while his eyes swept across everyone’s faces of held-back laughter.

After a moment’s strained silence, he spoke up. “Y’know what?” He looked down at his trapped feet and then back up, and his face split into a huge grin. “Even I can admit that this’s jus’ too damn funny”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a somewhat silly chapter in between all the pain ;')  
> I tried snowboarding once. However, I quickly realised that skis are more my thing x]


	21. Northern Crater

The snow crunched rhythmically as they made their way toward the crater. Having been deemed the outback experts of the group, Cloud and Tifa led the way, taking turns to plow through the deeper parts of the snow. At the back of the group, Cid was composing a whistling medley of seemingly every song that he could think of. Even the weather seemed a bit less forgiving than expected, and it all felt almost like an enjoyable hiking trip.

It could have easily been one, were it not for the sense of impending doom that hung heavy in Cloud’s mind. He didn’t much mind, though. It kept away the memories. The ones he would rather not think about. The ones that liked to creep up when he least expected it. The ones of…

“You know, I've been thinkin’...”

Barret’s voice startled Cloud out of his thoughts. Hoping he hadn’t visibly jumped out of fear, he looked over his shoulder. “About what?”

Barret opened his mouth, closed it, and then waved his hand at their surroundings. “‘S just… seein' a place like this really makes you realise how awesome nature is. An’ still, if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to…” He trailed off and glanced over his shoulder at Yuffie before he looked back at Cloud and added in a lower voice, “You know…” His voice returned to its normal volume and his forehead creased in a conflicted face. “So I was thinkin’, If I did live here, I'd wanna change things. Y’know, make things better”.

“Ya could start with addin’ a fuckin’ sun in the sky, this place is bloody _freezing_ ”, Yuffie complained and was immediately reprimanded by a chorus of ‘ _Language!_ ’.

Barret once again turned back to Cloud. “So then I thought, isn’t that what the Shinra’re doin’? Changin’ the world, tryin’ to make it a better place? When you think of it that way, the Shinra don't seem so bad…”

Behind them, Cid let out an unamused snort full of contempt. “The Shinra, not bad!? Don’t make me _laugh_ ”. He emphasised his last word by angrily stomping out his burnt out cigarette, immediately replacing it with a new one. “Jus’ ‘cause you can sympathise with someone don’t mean what they’re doing’s right”.

Barret watched him quietly, a hurt expression creeping onto his face. “Yeah”, he mumbled, moving his gaze to the quickly darkening sky. “Guess you’re right…”

They kept walking in silence after that, Cid having stopped his whistling to glower angrily at the horizon, burning through this cigarette much quicker than the last.

Their quiet trek ended at the foot of a steep mountainside, and Cloud nodded, more to himself than to anyone else. _The Crater._

Yuffie checked the map before she squinted to their right and to their left. “According to the map, there’s no way to get in there”.

Tifa looked to both sides as well and then leaned her head back to look up at the mountainside, studying it closely before nodding. “Don’t worry, there is”. She turned to Cloud, who nodded.

“We’ll just have to climb”.

Yuffie fixed them with a deadpan look. “You’re joking”.

Behind her, Cid groaned and shook his head. “Nevermind what the Shinra’ve done, I’d give _anythin’_ to be back in the air right now”.

~~

When they finally reached the top of the crater, Cloud felt he had to stop and take it all in. They were standing on the very top of what appeared to be a perfectly circular - almost artificial-looking - mountain range, spreading out on both sides, seemingly all the way to the horizon.

Cid gave a low whistle. “Hate to be the one to say it, but that’s one hugeass crater”.

Cloud nodded. “And old…”

Red XIII sniffed the air. “Something crashed down here. It left this crater like a scar on the Planet”. He sniffed again. “The energy of the Planet is so concentrated here I can smell it. It is slowly healing its old wound”.

Tifa crossed her arms. “And now Aerith is using that energy to power Meteor, right?”

“Yeah…” Cloud looked toward the middle of the crater, where what looked like a volcanic eruption of lights was taking place, enveloped in a barrier of wind. “And next time, the wound won’t be this small”.

With this thought, they somberly made their way into the crater.

Not too far down, they found another black-cloaked person slowly and jerkily crawling down the slope.

“B- back…” they wheezed, their voice barely audible, “back… to…” Their voice trailed off and their slow movements stopped. Then, the person flickered and disappeared.

“Can’t believe I’m almost gettin’ used to that happenin’”, Barret remarked, his voice sounding way too loud in the tense atmosphere.

There were some feeble attempts at laughs, but they all came out as nervous puffs of cold air. No more jokes or comments were made as they all diverted their attention to not slipping on the icy ground.

After an unsteady trek downhill, the ground became more level and they soon found themselves marching through a maze of pointy rocks and out onto a narrow trail, a steep drop on either side.

“Hey, Spikey”, Barret spoke up again, pausing for a moment to place Yuffie between himself and Cid, “you sure you know where you’re goin’?”

There was no doubt in Cloud’s mind that this was the right way. He felt somehow drawn to something, like before, at the Temple… _No, not like before_ , he reprimanded himself. _I am here to fight Aerith, of my own free will._

His thoughts were interrupted by two more cloaked people blocking the way in front of them. They were whispering something… _Reunion?_

Cloud walked closer to hear better, and as he did, the figures flickered out of existence.

“There sure are a lot of these guys here”, Tifa observed. “Does that mean they’re connected to Aerith?”

 _Reunion…_ Cloud thought back to his run-in with Aerith back in Nibelheim. _She talked about a reunion, back then._

Vincent nodded. “It would seem likely”.

Tifa nodded grimly. “I’ve lost many things because of Aerith. My friends, my dad, my whole town… my whole life”. She removed her mittens and flexed her fingers before she slammed her fist into her other palm with an impressive thwack. “I’m glad it’s finally time to settle things”.

Cloud nodded. _That’s why we’re here. To avenge what we’ve lost, and to stop Aerith from hurting anyone else._

He felt the jolt in his step when he suddenly spotted a flash of pink up ahead. _Aerith…_

He didn’t realise that he had started to run before he skidded to a halt in front of Aerith, wrenching his sword off of his back. “Aerith!” he shouted, adrenaline rushing through him. “This is the end!”

Aerith turned her head and smiled gently at him, apparently not feeling threatened in the least. “You're right, Cloud. This _is_ the end…” She broke off to giggle and then looked up at the sky. “The end of this body's usefulness”.

The world suddenly turned dark, and when Cloud’s eyes had adjusted, Aerith was gone. “... No-!” Cloud reached out toward where Aerith had stood, but was promptly pulled back by a hand on his shoulder.

“Stay on alert”, Vincent muttered down at him. “She might still be nearby…”

Cloud’s head was suddenly filled by a voice that pushed away all other thoughts. _“Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our master”._

… Master?

 _“Cloud?”_ Cloud could hear the muffled sound of Tifa’s voice as if through a thick fog. _“Cloud, are you okay?”_

 _“Those who carry JENOVA’s cells…”_ the voice in his head continued, _“will bring the Black Materia to our master”._

JENOVA’s cells… Our master?

Cloud’s entire world suddenly shook and he felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He shook his head to clear the fog, and realised that he was lying on the ground, along with the others. He looked up and saw Aerith give him a little wave before her body contorted, swelling and mutating in front of him until she looked more like a monster than a human.

 _JENOVA,_ Cloud realised and scrambled to stand up, fighting against the dizziness and the pain.

Beside him, Tifa and the others also got to their feet, and Cloud turned back to the creature. “Seems like we’ll have to get through you to get to Aerith”.

~~

Once JENOVA had been defeated, the creature melted down into a small, wriggling tentacle, which Cid promptly kicked over the edge of the stone walkway. Left behind was the Black Materia, floating about a metre above the ground, radiating a kind of wrong-ness that was hard to describe but which made Cloud’s entire body tingle unpleasantly.

The voice in his head was gone now, the words it had spoken seeming more like a dream than reality. “JENOVA’s cells…” Then it hit him. The Reunion. Of course!

His realisation must have shown on his face, because the others turned to him expectantly.

“That’s what this is all about; the Reunion of JENOVA’s cells!”

Yuffie was the first to speak. “... I really thought you’d have somethin’ there, but you’re makin’ even less sense than usual”.

Tifa shook her head. “No, he’s onto something. Aerith _turned into_ JENOVA, I saw it. And I don’t think even she could manage that”.

Cait Sith scratched at his head. “So ye’re saying that’s not Aerith?”

Cloud shook his head. “I'll explain later. Right now, we have to defeat Aerith”.

Red XIII tilted his head in confusion. “But you just said Aerith isn’t…”

“She’s here”, Cloud said, and once the words left his mouth, he knew it was true. “The real Aerith is just beyond here. Can’t you feel it?” He closed his eyes, allowing his subconscious to feel without being reprimanded by logic. “Someone’s releasing an incredibly strong will from deep within the Planet's wound”.

While Tifa and Red XIII closed their eyes, presumably to try to feel that same force that Cloud did, Cloud reached out and plucked the Black Materia out of the air.

“...The Black Materia is back in our hands. Now we just have to defeat Aerith, and that'll be the end of it”.

Tifa opened her eyes and nodded. “You’re right. We just have to defeat Aerith”. Then she added, as an afterthought, “But let’s not take the Black Materia with us. It’ll be safer with someone guarding it out here”.

Cloud nodded and deliberated for only a second before handing the Materia to Barret, who stared at it disbelievingly. “Keep it safe, and don't give it to _anyone_... I'm counting on you”. He added that last part without thinking, but it made Barret’s face brighten and then set into a resolved frown as he carefully took the Materia in his hand.

“Damn, man! Puttin’ all that pressure on me…”

Cloud shot him a quick smile before addressing the whole party. “Tifa and I are going in first. You guys stay and keep watch”.

Yuffie grinned and finger gunned confidently at them. “You got it!”

Barret nodded. “I'll take care of the Black Materia. No matter what”.

Tifa gave him a thumbs up before stepping up next to Cloud and turning to the wall of wind blocking their path forward.

“Remember”, Cloud started and checked that his sword was fastened correctly to his back, “Aerith is near. Anything could happen”.

Tifa nodded and took a deep breath before they both stepped through the barrier, their world suddenly growing white around them.

Behind them, Vincent looked between where JENOVA had died and where Cloud and Tifa had just seemingly disappeared. “You mean... we were never really pursuing Aerith?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided quite early to mainly write scenes that will be different in this AU. A great deal of disc 2 doesn't really change (because of obvious reasons), so get ready for a lot of timeskipping up ahead ;)  
> Thanks for staying with me this far~ <3<3


	22. Behind the Waterfall

“Sweets, anyone?”

Cloud politely refused the bowl of sweets that was thrust in his face, and Bugenhagen shrugged and floated over to Yuffie instead, who beamed and grabbed a fistful, immediately tossing three different ones in her mouth.

“You said we could come here ‘n ask you stuff”, Barret began, taking the bowl from Bugenhagen and passing it to Tifa, who passed it on. “Well, we’re really kinda lost right now”.

“Ho ho hoo”, Bugenhagen laughed, “everyone gets lost sometimes. And when that happens, we each have to take a good look at ourselves. There's always something, down in the deepest reaches of our hearts. Something buried, or something forgotten”. He laughed again. “Whatever that something is, it is certainly what you are looking for”.

Cloud shook his head as he passed the bowl of sweets on. “I can't remember anything like that”.

Bugenhagen waved a hand at him. “Not you, my boy. Me”. He chuckled at Cloud’s confused face. “There is something, something I may have thought I had forgotten...” He floated idly around them all, a look of concentration on his face.

A sudden gasp of delight from Yuffie broke the silence. “Holy shit, lemon drops!”

“ _Language_ ”, she was immediately chided, but Bugenhagen snapped his fingers.

“There it is! The something I had forgotten!” He turned to address Yuffie. “Thank you for reminding me, young one”.

Yuffie stared back at him, confused. “Uuh. You’re... welcome?”

“The something”, Bugenhagen nodded, “is Holy”.

Cid watched him for a moment before shaking his head. “... Sorry, but you lost me there, gramps”.

Bugenhagen chuckled. “Holy is the ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor”.

Barret leaned forward with a determined look. “So if we just cast Holy, it’ll save the Planet from Meteor?”

“Ah”, Bugenhagen sighed, “alas, it is not so simple. Holy cannot simply be cast, but must be sought by a soul able to reach the Planet”. He nodded to himself. “Yes, and then, Holy will appear, and all that the Planet decides is bad, will disappear”. He chuckled and peered over his sunglasses. “Perhaps, even ourselves”.

“If this thing can stop Meteor, then it’s worth the risk”, Barret said firmly, and the others nodded.

Cloud shifted his weight. “So, how do we search for Holy?”

“You must get the White Materia and speak to the Planet”. Bugenhagen chuckled again. “And hope your wish reaches it”.

Tifa frowned. “But where do we get the White Materia?”

“Ah”, Bugenhagen sighed and shrugged. “That, I do not know”.

“... Well, fuck”, Cid groaned and slumped in disappointment. “Better get to lookin’, then...”

“Seph had a white Materia”, Yuffie suddenly spoke up. “On his necklace. Horribly cracked, though. No resale value”. She frowned. “Then again... If it’s that rare, I may have made the worst financial decision of my life...”

Cid broke the stunned silence with a deep sigh. “Y’know, I never thought I’d say this, but I really do wish you’d stolen that Materia, kid”.

“Okay, but, there’s still a chance, right?” Cait Sith looked between everyone, searching for confirmation on their faces. “I mean, Seph could’ve already used the Materia, right?”

Tifa shook her head. “I don’t think so. Seph told me once that it was broken, just a memento. If it worked, he didn’t know about it”.

Red XIII hung his head sadly. “Then, this really is the end”.

Bugenhagen chuckled. “It would seem that way, yes”.

“Cloud”, Cait Sith suddenly exclaimed. “I just found out where the Junon Cannon disappeared to! Rufus has moved it to Midgar! He reckons he can use it to defeat Aerith”.

“An’ I reckon he’s a fool if he thinks that’s gonna work”, Barret scowled.

“Also”, Cait Sith continued, “Weapon is still approaching Midgar”.

“Then so are we!” Barret decided and stomped toward the door. “C’mon guys, airship time!”

“But”, Yuffie complained in a small voice, “I get airsick up there...”

Barret stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at Yuffie, before turning around again and flinging open the door. “C’mon guys, submarine time!”

~~

“Damn, these controls’re just fuckin’ all over the place, aren’t they”, Cid muttered for what was probably the tenth time while he tried to maneuver their stolen submarine. “Typical Shinra engineering. Jus’ when you think you got it, it goes flyin’ off in the other direction”.

“At least I’m not gettin’ seasick!” Yuffie cheered from her chair and kicked her feet excitedly. “Or airsick. That’s literally the worst kind”.

“Well, that’s somethin’, at least”, Cid conceded in a more mellowed down voice.

Further back in the cramped space, Cloud was sitting curled up with his back against the wall, staring into empty space, trying to piece his thoughts together. So much had happened and none of it made sense.

First, he had been himself, Cloud Strife, ex-SOLDIER, from Nibelheim. Then, he had been told that he was an Aerith clone, born five years ago and infused with JENOVA’s cells. Then, it turned out that back when he had thought he was himself, he had really mostly been Zack, who was a SOLDIER First Class. The real Cloud had never made it into SOLDIER.

But, he had still felt like himself before he found out everything, hadn’t he? Sure, some things had been foggy, and sometimes it had felt like his brain seized up. But, he was still Cloud… wasn’t he?

He felt a hand ruffle his hair and looked up as Tifa sat down beside him. “You look like you’re trying to burn a hole through the floor”, she observed, making the corner of Cloud’s mouth twitch into a tired smile. “What’re you thinking about?”

Cloud shrugged. “I don’t know”. Then he shook his head and sighed, leaning his forehead into his palm. “I don’t know anything anymore”.

Tifa smiled sadly and patted him gently on the arm. “If it makes you feel better, I really do wish we were childhood friends”. Her smile widened and she knocked their shoulders together. “‘Cause then, I could’ve told you how horrendous that ponytail of yours really was”.

Her comment made Cloud snort softly. “You really think long hair looks that bad on me?”

Tifa huffed a laugh. “Oh, definitely. I’d give anything to see you with short hair”.

“I cut it, once”, Cloud suddenly remembered, “back when I first joined the military. The hairdresser looked like he was about to cry”.

Tifa chortled. “Sounds like I missed out big time”. She winked. “Make sure to call me for your next haircut. I’ll bring popcorn”.

Cloud rolled his eyes, his smile finally feeling genuine. “Well, joke’s on you, now I’m never cutting it ever again, just ‘cause you said that”.

Tifa laughed again and gave Cloud’s knee a playful slap.

The submarine suddenly shook violently and Cid spat out a long string of curses. “Bloody assjob fuckin’ dicksuckin’ piece of shit couldn’t even make a goddamned turn on a fuckin’ merry-go-fuck-yourself-round, I swear to fuckin’ _ass!_ ” He flipped some switches and then grabbed the steering wheel tightly. “We’re goin’ up. And no, you can’t repeat _any_ of what I just said”, he added sternly, fixing Yuffie with an equally stern look.

Yuffie pouted and crossed her arms, kicking her feet but making no effort to argue. Smart move.

When the submarine had surfaced and everyone had climbed out, they found themselves on the shore of a lake, entirely surrounded by mountains.

“Look, a waterfall!” Yuffie exclaimed, and galloped off towards her discovery before anyone could stop her.

“Well, _someone_ has to go fetch her back here”, Barret sighed. “Mind you, I ain’t really equipped for runnin’”.

Cid waved his hand dismissively. “Y’all can do whatever you want, but I need a smoke”.

“How about”, Tifa suggested, “we leave you big burly boys out here to stand guard in case something happens, and Cloud and I bring grandpa along for some sightseeing?”

Vincent huffed, clearly not amused by the nickname, but the others nodded.

Red XIII rearranged his paws to sit more comfortably. “Yuffie likes Vincent, so I do not see why not”.

“It’s decided, then”, Cloud nodded and he, Tifa and Vincent began to walk toward the waterfall, Cait Sith’s excited voice echoing after them.

“Hear that, lads? She called me a big burly boy!”

When they were only a short way away from the waterfall, Yuffie suddenly appeared from behind some rocks and came running toward them, eyes shining with glee. “Guys guys guys, ya _gotta_ come see this! There’s a cave! A secret cave!”

And there really was a cave, hidden behind the waterfall. While Yuffie excitedly told them about how she had found it because of a weird echo, they carefully edged their way along the rockface and into a perfectly round room.

The floor was shiny with a thin layer of water, a regular dripping sound bouncing off the walls and the high ceiling. The room was just barely lit up by a cold light pulsating faintly from within some kind of crystal structure at the opposite end of the room.

Curiosity getting the better of them, Cloud and the others stepped closer to the crystal. If you squinted in the dim light, the centre of the crystal almost looked like a…

_A woman?_

Vincent’s sharp inhale broke the silence. “It can't be…” Eyes wide, he walked slowly toward the crystal, reaching out with a hand. “Lucrecia...?”

The light grew brighter for a split second, and the room was filled by a whispering voice, or more like a hollow echo of a voice. _“... Vincent…?”_

Vincent stood frozen. Then, he broke into a run, stumbling over his own feet. “Lucrecia!”

The voice returned, but this time, it boomed through the room in a deafening shout as the light flashed brightly, like a lightning strike. _“STAY BACK!”_

Vincent stopped in his tracks, utter disbelief written all over his face. “Lucrecia... You're alive…”

There was complete silence for a moment. Then, the voice, which must be that of Lucrecia, returned again, no longer a shout but instead barely above a whisper. _“I wanted to disappear... After what I did, I... I couldn't stand it... I wanted to die”._ There was a sudden draft through the cave, almost like a sigh, and Lucrecia continued talking. _“But the JENOVA inside me wouldn't let me...”_

Vincent reached out his hand again, but stayed where he was. “Lucrecia...”

 _“Don’t bother”_ , she whispered. _“I am not worthy of being held. Not after what I did...”_ She trailed off and another draft went through the cave. _“My dear, dear child, whom I never got to hold, even once... Not even once. You can't even call me a mother... That... is my sin...”_

Vincent moved one foot forward again, and the light pulsed weakly.

_“Please, Vincent... don’t come any closer. Just... tell me one thing”._

“Anything”, Vincent said without hesitation.

 _“Is... my child still alive? Please, tell me”_ , she added when Vincent remained silent.

Vincent took a deep breath and looked up at the crystal. “Aerith... is alive”.

The cave sighed again. _“That is... good to hear. I have seen her in my dreams; the child I was unable to save. But, you didn’t answer my question”._

Vincent frowned in confusion. “... Excuse me?”

Lucrecia’s voice grew even more quiet. _“Is my child... Is Sephiroth... still alive?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, plottwist ;);) How will this pan out, I wonder.....


	23. Good Bye, Science Guy

Heavy drops of rain began to fall as the party hurried up the metal staircase to the cannon, soaking through their clothes and shoes.

According to Cait Sith’s intel, Hojo was supposed to be at the top of these stairs. Cloud felt his heart begin to beat harder as he ran. They were this close, and he would be damned if they didn’t make it there in time.

Finally, he reached the top of the staircase, looking around wildly before spotting Hojo at the controls of the cannon.

His back was turned, his dark ponytail contrasting again his deceivingly pristine lab coat.

The sight of him and the knowledge of all that he had done - to Red XIII, to Cloud, to Seph - filled Cloud with a burning fury. “ _Hojo!_ ” he bellowed and ran forward, followed by the others. “Stop right there!”

Hojo barely glanced over his shoulder, not halting his swiftly moving hands on the console. “Oh...” he sighed, disappointment clear in his voice, “the failure”.

Cloud bristled. “At least remember my name! It's Cloud!”

Hojo’s hands stilled momentarily, hovering over the controls, and he sighed again before he resumed his work. “Every time I see you, I am reminded that I evaluated you as a failed project. But, you are the only one that succeeded as an Aerith-clone. It pains me that I had so little scientific sense...”

Tifa stomped her foot down hard enough to shake the floor. “None of that matters! Just stop this nonsense!”

Hojo froze, and slowly, he turned to look over his shoulder. “... Nonsense?” he repeated and looked back down at the controls. “Oh, you mean this?” He turned around fully to face them, a cold smile on his face. “Aerith is counting on this energy. So I'm going to give it to her”.

“... An’ why the fuck would you do that?” Barret asked, incredulous.

Hojo laughed, a shrill, hollow sound. “Because my daughter is in need of help”. He peered through his glasses at Barret with a knowing smirk. “Surely, you can sympathise?”

Barret looked taken aback but this comment, and Cid frowned at Hojo. “... Your what now?”

Hojo laughed again. “Although she has no idea, naturally”. He smiled again, looking off into the distance. “I offered Lucrecia, the woman with my child, to Gast's JENOVA Project. While Aerith was still in the womb, we took the cells of-”

“You’re wrong”.

Hojo was visibly shocked at having been so rudely interrupted, and directed his attention to Vincent, who had stepped forward. Hojo raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Well, well. Aren’t I lucky, meeting two reject experiments on the same day”.

“You’re wrong about Aerith”, Vincent clarified, his red eyes fixed on Hojo. “Lucrecia had a son. And his name was Seph”.

Hojo scoffed indignantly. “Do not take me for a fool. The Shinra records never lie. _My_ records never lie! I’ll show you-” he turned toward the controls again, and then froze. A chilly grin spread slowly across his face. “In fact, I _will_ show you”. He laughed and turned back around, undoing the buttons of his lab coat.

_“Oh please, god, no”_ , Cid whispered, horrified at what this action could entail.

“I-” Hojo broke off to laugh while quickly rolling up his left sleeve. “I have injected JENOVA's cells... into my own body!” He unfastened a green, almost fluorescent syringe from his belt and held it up to the sky. “And here, are my results!” He changed his grip on the syringe, preparing to stab it into his arm, when he suddenly yelped.

Everyone watched in silence as the syringe fell to the floor and shattered.

And then, a voice called out through the sound of the rain.

“ _You goddamn asshole! Just wait til’ I get my hands on you, you lyin’ son of a bitch!_ ”

Hojo whipped around to face the source of the sound and - along with Cloud and the others - stared, utterly shocked, as Seph stomped toward him along the edge of the platform, looking impossibly alive and incredibly pissed off.

“You absolute fuckin’ _dickweed!_ ” Seph shouted while he stomped right past Hojo and finally stopped in front of Cloud, waving his hands wildly. “How could you just _leave me_ like that?! After all we went through, you just abandon me first chance you get?! I thought we _had_ something! And my fuckin’ phone! Soaked! _Ruined!_ D’you have _any idea_ how many people I had to swindle to afford that shit? And don’t even get me _started_ on my hair! Can you even imagine how long it took me to untangle that shit?!”

His eyes suddenly narrowed when he spotted the pink ribbon tied to the hilt of Cloud’s sword. “And I’ll be havin’ that _back, thank you very much_ ”, he snarled and tugged the ribbon free, clutching it in his hand as he directed his glare back to Cloud’s face. “And let me tell you, I’ve had to do _some shit_ to get all the way back here from there, so the least you could do is fuckin’ defend yourself, you selfish, lying, limp-dicked dungheap of an _asscrack!_ ”

“ _Language, young man!_ ” Vincent and Hojo exclaimed in unison, but Seph paid them no heed.

“So what’s it gonna be, dickface? You really jus’ gonna stand there an’ say _nothin’?!_ You-”

The sound of a heavy punch echoed across the platform and Seph suddenly reeled back, wincing as he covering his cracked lip with a hand.

Tifa stood between Seph and Cloud, glaring up at Seph through her tears. “You insensitive pile of horseshit, we thought you’d fuckin’ _died!_ ”

Seph stared back at her, dumbfounded. “... What?”

Finally, Cloud was brought out of his stunned stupor, at least enough to take a step forward. “... Seph...?” he rasped out, and the next second he had wrapped his arms tightly around Seph, elated beyond words and with tears streaming from his eyes.

Seph looked utterly confused for a while before he hesitantly placed an arm around Cloud’s shoulders to return the hug. “Shit, Cloud, you okay?”

Cloud nodded, choking out his answer between sniffles. “Yeah, I’m fine”.

“Like hell you are”, Seph teased and then turned to Tifa, holding out his unoccupied arm. “C’mon, I know you wanna get in on this”.

Tifa grinned, faking a punch to his ribs before wrapping her arms around him and Cloud, and Seph placed his arm around her shoulders.

“Sooo”, he drawled once they had hugged silently for a while, “now that we’re all cozied up, you mind tellin’ me why you thought I’d died?”

Tifa tightened her hold for a split second. “You were hit with a Lightning Materia”.

“Oh... Ouch?”

“We checked your pulse”, Cloud said quietly. “You were dead”.

Seph considered this and then shrugged. “... Well, that explains some things, at least”.

“Uh, _ahem_ , I’m still here, you know”, came Hojo’s indignant voice from over at the console. “And I would prefer not to have an unplanned mutant offspring destroy my moment of triumph”.

Vincent stepped forward again, fixing Hojo with his piercing glare. “You still can’t see it? This is Lucrecia’s son”.

Seph frowned up at Vincent. “... No it isn’t”.

Vincent turned his head to Seph. “You haven’t heard, but you were born by Lucrecia, and then you were adopted by Gast and Ifalna. I’ll explain the details later”.

Seph raised an eyebrow, looking utterly lost. “Uh, yeah, please do”.

“Lucrecia’s son, eh?” Hojo cackled wildly before adjusting his glasses. “You are aware that if this were true, he would also be my son?”

Seph recoiled visibly and made a disgusted grimace. “Ew. Suddenly, I’m really not onboard with this idea”.

“Enough!” Hojo snapped. “I see through your pitiful ploy, and there is no point in trying to delay my inevitable victory!” He produced another syringe from behind his back and swiftly emptied it into his arm. Immediately, his body convulsed and he laughed shrilly. “Now... let us see how the Mako juice is reacting!”

Barret stepped up beside the others as they broke up the hug, giving Seph’s shoulder a friendly pat before readying his gunarm. “Looks like he’s hellbent on pickin’ that fight”.

“Fine with me”, Seph grinned and grabbed a long, black and white sword with an elaborate design off his back. “At least I’ll get to try out my new sword”.

~~

“You know”, Yuffie said while they walked back down the stairs to the cannon, “I kinda feel sad for him”.

Vincent nodded somberly. “He was a queer fellow. May he rest in peace”.

Seph shot him a suspicious look. “... How would you know if Hojo was queer?”

Vincent jerked one shoulder in a half shrug. “You met him, it doesn’t take much more to see it”.

Seph was about to comment this, but Tifa elbowed him softly in the side.

“It’s not worth it. Remember; he may be sixty, but he talks like he’s a hundred”.

“Ditto”. Seph rolled his eyes. “Someone should really update him on the lingo. Speaking of”, he said and turned to Cloud, “can I borrow your phone? Just wanna make sure mom’s okay. Didn’t see her around the house”.

“Ooh, don’t ye worry about her”, Cait Sith said hurriedly. “She and Marlene evacuated to Kalm, they’re safe”.

“Really? That’s good”, Seph said, looking relieved at this information. “I’d still like to call her, though”.

Cloud nodded and fished his phone out of his pocket, handing it to Seph, who flipped it open and quickly inserted a number into it.

“Ah, yes, about that...” Seph turned to look at Cait Sith, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “You see... I _may_ have already informed your mother of your, uh... death...”

Seph frowned. “But... I’m not dead”.

“Ah, yes, well, I know that now”. Cait Sith twiddled his fingers nervously. “I didnae know before, though”.

Seph watched him for a couple of seconds before he sighed deeply. “Well, this’ll be a pleasant chat, then”. He pressed the green call button and held the phone up to his ear, quietly waiting for it to go through. His mother must have picked up the phone, because the next thing he said was: “Hi, mom, I’m alive”.

The call lasted the entire trip back to the submarine, and on Seph’s part consisted mostly of listening patiently, sometimes interjecting that he was ‘totally fine’ or that she needed to ‘stop worrying so much, mom’.

When Cid started to climb down the hatch of the submarine, Seph suddenly grabbed onto Cloud’s shoulder, almost wrenching him off his feet.

“Cloud. Are we drivin’ that thing?”

Cloud, unsure of what answer Seph would prefer, nodded.

Seph looked between Cloud and the submarine and his cat-like pupils dilated visibly. “Wicked”.

“If ya think this’s ‘wicked’”, Cid’s shout echoed from inside the submarine, “you jus’ wait ‘til ya see my airship. The Highwind, she’s called. A real beauty, she is”.

Seph once again looked between the submarine and Cloud. “We have a wholeass airship now? Since when?”

There was the tinny sound of chattering over the phone, and Seph rolled his eyes before placing the phone back to his ear. “Yeah yeah, I know; language”. He listened for a moment while the others climbed into the sub, soon leaving Seph and Cloud alone on the shore. “Hey, mom, nice chat, but I gotta get in a submarine to save the world now, I think. Yeah. Yeah... Uh-huh... Yeah... Mhm... Yeah... Yes... _Yes... God_ , mom, just let me _go_  already. We’ll talk more later, promise. Yeah. Mhm... Yeah, me too... Talk t’ you later. Mhm. Yeah, bye”.

He flipped the phone closed with a sigh, looking mildly annoyed but mostly relieved. Then he turned to Cloud, a smile - bordering on a smirk - on his face. “You didn’t have to wait for me out here, you know”. He walked over to Cloud, stopping a bit closer than was strictly necessary, and held out the phone. “Unless... there was something you wanted?”

Cloud averted his eyes. There was something, but he didn’t know how to bring it up. There just hadn’t been a right time since Seph came back. “Yeah...” he finally admitted.

Seph raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?” he murmured, almost breathed.

Cloud took a deep breath, deciding to just get it over with. “Seph... You have a wing”.

Seph looked visibly surprised by this statement. Puzzled, he moved his one black wing, as if he had forgotten it was even there. “... Yeah. Yeah, I guess I have”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back.... Back again....  
> SEPH. IS. BACK. ALRIGHT!


	24. Seph's Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: There and Back Again - A Salty Tale by Seph “Salty” Gainsborough

Seph woke up surrounded by a thick, white fog. He closed his eyes and then opened them again. The fog was still there.

He groaned loudly, clutching at his head. “Sorry, mom. I know I promised I’d never get this high again...”

“Who’re you calling mom? Should I be flattered?”

Seph froze. He knew that voice.

He turned around slowly, taking in the sight of that unmistakable mess of black hair. “Well, shit, I must be worse off than I thought if I’m seein’ you”.

Zack laughed, eyes shining with mirth. “That’s not a very nice thing to say to your boyfriend”.

Seph crossed his arms and scowled at him. “You mean _ex_ -boyfriend”.

Zack hummed, shifting his weight while he considered this. “Weird, I don’t remember us breaking up”.

“Close enough”, Seph snapped. “You _abandoned_ me”.

“I didn’t want to, though”, Zack said and walked closer, voice ernest and filled with regret. “I tried so hard to come back to you! But... in the end, I couldn’t do it”.

If Seph hadn’t already crossed his arms, he would have done so now. “Oh? And why’s that?”

Zack went quiet, looking up into Seph’s eyes with a remorseful look. “... Because I died, Seph”.

Seph stared back at him, at a loss for words. “... Wow. This must be some cheap ass shit I’ve taken if that’s the best it can do”.

“It’s true!” Zack exclaimed, obviously hurt. “I was on a mission, then everything went crazy and I was kept in a tank for years. Then when I got out, all I wanted was to see you!” He paused and sighed deeply. “I got your texts and brought Cloud with me, but... I didn’t make it. I’m sorry”.

Seph snorted. “Now you’re bringin’ Cloud into this, too? Remind me to find out who the fuck sold me this shit”.

Zack stomped his foot, finally losing patience. “Seph, please just listen to me! You’re not _high_ , you’re _comatose!_ ” Then he furrowed his brow. “At least, I think you are? You better be. ‘Cause if you’re dead too, I’m gonna have to have a talk with the higher ups of this place. If there are any. Now that I think about it, there probably aren’t. Aw man, that’s a problem”.

Seph watched Zack scratch the back of his head in thought, the familiar gesture warming up something inside of him. “Okay”, he said, “let’s say I believe you. Say I don’t think I’m high as balls, where’s that leave me? Where am I?”

His question was answered by another voice, more gentle than Zack’s but just as familiar. “You’re in the Lifestream, Seph”.

Seph whipped his head around, confused out of his mind. “... Mom?” He looked at Ifalna, incredulous, before sighing and rubbing at his temples. “Now I _know_ I’m high. I haven’t dreamt about you in years”.

Ifalna smiled softly. “I expected as much. Still, it makes me happy to know that you haven’t forgotten me”.

Seph directed his gaze down at his boots. “Of course I wouldn’t forget”, he muttered. “You’re my mom”. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to find Ifalna standing in front of him.

“We don't have much time”, she said. “The Lifestream doesn't need you here. You must go back. There's still so much for you to do”.

Seph smiled, deciding to play along. “Really? Like what?”

Ifalna fixed him with a serious look. “Protect the Planet”.

Seph only just managed not to explode with laughter. “Okay”, he choked out, “okay, great. And how do I do that, exactly?”

“The Lifestream and the Cetra will grant you new powers”, Ifalna explained. Then, her expression softened as she looked up into Seph’s eyes. “Oh, Sephy. Look at you, you’ve grown so tall”, she smiled and suddenly enveloped him in a hug filled with warmth.

Unsure of what to do, Seph patted her shoulder. “Uh, thanks?”

Off to the side, Zack huffed a laugh.

Seph gave him an unamused scowl.

When Ifalna finally pulled away, she let her hand linger on Seph’s right shoulder blade.

There was a sudden rush of warmth through Seph's whole back, followed by the sound of fabric ripping as a huge, black wing suddenly shot out from where Ifalna had touched him.

Seph stared at the wing, reaching back with a hand to feel the incredibly realistic feathers. “... Okay. I’ll admit, that’s pretty sick”.

Ifalna just smiled at him and took a couple of steps back, holding out her hands as if carrying something. There was a sound like a thousand whispers, and a myriad of green, shining threads appeared from within the whiteness and began to weave together in Ifalna’s hands, connecting into a long, thick rope.

Before long, the light faded and in Ifalna’s hands lay a sword, black, with a white pattern that seemed to pulse and glow of its own accord.

“This is a Cetra Blade”, she explained, before looking over her shoulder. “If you would be so kind, Zack”.

Zack looked surprised at being included in this exchange, but then walked over to them with that excited, confident strut of his. He took the sword from Ifalna and then turned to Seph. “I feel like I should say something clever, but I still only got the one thing”, he joked and then presented the sword to Seph, his eyes suddenly completely serious. “Embrace your dreams”.

Even after all this time and anger, Seph still found that he couldn’t say no to Zack. He took the sword, and somehow, just holding it seemed... right. He weighed it in his palm, amazed at how well it fit in his hand, while Zack continued talking.

“There’s another part to that quote too; about protecting your honor”. He laughed and put his hands at his sides, that usual humorous glint back in his eyes. “But knowing you, telling you that’d just be setting myself up for a spiteful recoil”.

“Sounds about right”, Seph agreed, looking away from the sword and back at Zack. “... Thanks”.

Zack beamed at him and then seemed to realise something. “Hey...” He slowly reached out toward Seph, as if afraid that he would be pushed away if he moved too quickly.

Seph felt the familiar warmth that always seemed to radiate from Zack - like a space heater - against the side of his neck, and then a soft tug at his hair.

“You kept the ribbon”.

Seph wanted to give him a snide comment, but his head suddenly felt entirely empty. “Yeah”, he managed, too distracted by Zack’s warmth. He had been so busy being angry all these years that he had never let himself properly miss Zack. But now that he was standing right there... Even if Seph was probably tripping on something - or maybe _because_ he was tripping - he felt it all catching up to him.

He reached forward with his empty hand, trailing it up Zack’s arm, over his shoulder, and up his neck to cup his cheek, gently stroking his cheekbone with his thumb.

Zack closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, breathing out a soft sigh against Seph’s wrist. Then he opened his eyes again and moved his hand from Seph’s ribbon to cup the side of his neck. “You know what?” he said with a big smile. “I think we should see other people”.

Seph huffed, a soft smile on his face. “Yeah. I think you’re right”. He raised an eyebrow. “Got anyone in mind?”

Zack gave the theatrical shrug of a man resigned to an inescapable fate. “You know what it’s like. People just can’t keep their hands off me”.

Seph laughed and leaned in closer, a teasing smile on his lips. “Well, lucky for you, I’m not like other people”. To demonstrate this, he let his hand slip away from Zack’s face and took one step back, raising his hand. “Look, no hands”.

Zack laughed and retracted his own hand, holding it up just like Seph’s. “No hands”, he agreed, and then they smacked their palms together in a high-five.

Zack looked around them and nodded. “Looks like it’s time for you to go”.

Seph followed his line of sight and saw that the white fog was becoming gradually less opaque around him. “I guess so”.

Zack’s face split into a goofy grin and he gave Seph’s shoulder a gentle shove. “Now get outta here. And if I ever find you in here again, I’ll kick your ass”, he warned.

Seph smirked. “Like you could even kick my ass in the first place, shorty”.

They both laughed, and somehow, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Finally, the laughter died down and Zack huffed amusedly. “It’s funny. One of my biggest regrets was not giving you enough gifts while I had the chance”. He looked up at Seph, a disbelieving grin on his face. “And now I get to give you a magic sword”.

Seph laughed and shook his head. “I never needed you to buy me things. I just needed-” He broke off and averted his eyes from Zack’s hopeful ones. “Nevermind”.

The fog around them grew even thinner, and Zack could never endure a cliffhanger.

“No, wait, keep going! What were you gonna say?”

Seph looked back at Zack and smiled gently. It was just a high, after all, what harm could it do to be honest with himself for once.

“... You”, he said, and as soon as the word left his mouth, he felt himself getting sucked backwards, out of the white fog and through nothingness.

~~

This time, Seph woke up with a clearer head than he’d had for what felt like years. The good kind of drug, then, whatever it was. He rolled onto his back, laughing despite himself. “Woah. Cloud, guys, you wouldn’t _believe_ what a fucked up trip I-” He trailed off and looked around. “... Guys?”

The only sound was his own voice echoing back at him, and a steady drip of water.

He looked up at the ceiling, frowning at the free-floating white stairs. His first thought was that he must still be high. Then, something began to gnaw at the back of his mind. Something about this place was... familiar.

Gradually, the memories began to return to him. Something about Aerith, and Cetras, and a voice in his head, whispering that he had to go to this place... alone.

But the others had followed him. He had talked to Cloud, and then...

... And then what?

He couldn’t remember.

Where were the others? Why was Seph the only one tripping out on the floor of a weird cave? They couldn’t have just... left? ... Could they?

Still lying on his back, Seph quickly retrieved his phone from his pocket. When he held it above his face, however, a thin string of water ran down his arms, some of it dripping onto his face.

“... The fuck?”

Struck by a sudden fear, Seph sat up and tried to animate his phone. No response.

Genuinely worried now, he removed the back panel, moaning sadly when more water streamed out of the phone and down onto his already damp lap. “Nooo, no no, please, don’t be like this. Come on, please be alive”, he begged as he tried to boot it up again and again, to no avail.

Finally, he had to admit defeat. _You were a loyal companion while it lasted_ , he thought remorsefully and ran a hand through his wet bangs. _... Wait a sec._

He pawed through his hair, which was dripping with water and more tangled than should even be possible. With an annoyed grunt, he began picking half-heartedly at the tangles. He’d need at least a full day and a real fucking good conditioner to fix that mess.

Then he gasped. His hair wasn’t braided. He began fervently combing his fingers through the matted mess. _It must’ve just come lose_ , he thought desperately. _I can’t have lost it, not now!_

He worked through the entirety of his hair, and for the second time in a very short time, Seph Gainsborough was forced to admit defeat. His ribbon was gone.

He looked around dejectedly, scanning the cave floor for any sign of his ribbon, with no luck. Instead, his eyes landed on an object lying next to his left hand: a black sword with white details.

“... Okay. That could have a valid explanation”, he told himself, preferring not to consider the alternative. In need of a weapon, he  grabbed the sword and nodded. “First things first; I have to get out of here”.

He rolled onto his side and got onto one knee, but when he tried to stand up, something tugged at his back and he promptly found himself face-down on the very hard floor.

“... Okay, umm, _ouch_ ”.

He turned his head to glare at whatever had caused him to trip, but froze at the sight of a big, black wing protruding from his shoulder blade.

He stared, suspiciously, at the wing for a moment. Then, he tensed his back muscles, and the wing twitched.

Seph regarded the wing quietly before concentrating deeply. The wing twitched again, and then moved, lifting slightly off the floor. Seph tried to will it to kindly get out of his way, thanks, and the wing stretched out across the floor before retracting and folding itself neatly against his back. _Close enough._

With no wing to trip over, Seph finally managed to get to his feet and started to make his way toward the stairs. While he walked, he thought his situation over. His phone was broken beyond repair, his hair was a mess, he had found a weird sword, he was alone, and he had a wing.

Almost all of those things could be explained. Except, of course, the wing. Seph flexed a muscle that he was sure he hadn’t had before, and the wing reacted by extending itself, the wingtip brushing against the cave wall. Seph relaxed the muscle again, and the wing folded itself against his back again. Interesting.

This, however, also meant that - unless he was still high off his goddamn ass - Seph had literally sprouted an actual wing. And the only explanation for that would be...

No. No fucking way. There was literally no way in hell that that crack dream about the Lifestream had been real. Because if it was...

“I just said the most sappy, embarrassin’ goddamn shit of my _life!_ ”

Seph’s tired groan echoed through the cave as he started to climb the stairs. At least, once he got outside, things would be closer to making sense.

After an arduous climb and an unnecessarily long walk, Seph had finally made it outside. And nothing was any closer to making sense.

He stood perfectly still and silent for a long while, head tipped back, staring up at the gigantic ass burning space rock that was covering almost the whole sky.

“You know what”, he eventually said. “... This is fine”. He lowered his eyes and lay down on the ground, extending his wing to block out the sunlight. “I’m just gonna sleep for a while, and when I wake up, the world won’t be this fucked”.

After approximately five minutes of not being able to fall asleep, Seph groaned and stood back up. “Okay, well, that didn’t work”.

He watched his surroundings, trying to remember which way to go next. In his confused, dehydrated and increasingly salty state, however, remembering details was proving to be difficult, and in the end, he just opted for going straight forward.

It seemed to have been the right move, because he eventually made it out of the city and into a harsh, cold wilderness that did not agree with his still damp clothes and hair. There may not have been any snow on the ground, but Seph knew cold weather when he saw it.

Wet, cold, and growing angrier by the minute, he trudged on for what felt like an eternity, seemingly without getting anywhere.

Until, finally, it hit him.

He looked over his shoulder at his wing, flexing it at first, and then moving it carefully up and down. He repeated the motion, harder this time, and the resulting draft made a couple of dried leaves scitter across the ground. He did it once more, even harder, and for one breathless moment he felt his feet lift off the ground.

It could work. It would work. Having decided this, Seph bent his knees and flapped his wing. Once, twice, and _jump!_

For about five seconds, Seph was airborne, sailing on the North wind and experiencing freedom as never before.

The next thing he knew, he was tangled in the branches of a pine tree, clinging desperately onto the trunk a good thirty metres from the ground.

Once he had recovered from the shock - and spat out the pine needles he had almost swallowed - it was time for another try. If ground level liftoff was no good, then maybe... Seph peered down from his perch. Yep, definitely an uncomfortable drop.

Well then, he would just have to make sure not to fall then, wouldn’t he.

He took a deep breath, flapping his wing rhythmically. This would work, he knew it.

“ _Gods_ I hope I’m goin’ the right way”, he muttered before he flung himself into the air for his second failed attempt at flying.

~~

At the first sight of civilisation, Seph groaned elatedly and folded his tired wing, hitting the water with an impressive splash. He resurfaced and then floated quietly on his back for a moment, too tired to care about what the salt water would do to his hair.

He had made it. He had flown across the ocean. From the Northern continent to the Eastern.

Now all he had to do was hitch a ride to Midgar, and then he’d get to know how his mom was doing. And best of all, he’d get to wash and detangle his hair.

With that motivation, he swam to shore, eager to find an acceptably questionable mode of transport as soon as possible. Then, his eyes narrowed. The shore was full of people. Swimming, playing, sunbathing people. And the water was really incredibly warm.

Kneeling in the shallow water, Seph sighed deeply, suddenly tired out of his mind. “This isn’t even _near_ Midgar, is it...”

“‘Fraid not”, a nearby voice answered. “This is Costa del Sol”.

He had flown too far West. “... Figures”. Well, nothing else had gone according to plan lately, so why not.

Disgruntled by this discovery, Seph began to plot a way to get across to the Eastern continent without running into the Shinra. As it were, his main alternatives were either to fly, to smuggle himself across on a ship, or to hijack a boat. While he debated which one of these would be less tedious, the owner of the helpful voice snapped their fingers.

“I remember now; you’re bubby’s friend! Seph, wasn’t it? How you been? You look like you’ve been through some pretty rough stuff”.

Seph snorted and began to comb through his hair with his fingers. ‘Rough’ was an understatement. “I have, yeah, thanks for noticin’”. Then, his fingers stilled and he turned his head to give his possible saviour a charming smile. “Hey... You wouldn’t be able to do me a favour, would you, Mukki?”

Mukki raised an eyebrow and squatted down beside him to be at eye level, a teasing smile on his lips. “Depends what the favour is”.

Seph leaned closer conspiratorially. “I need to get to Midgar, but the Shinra don’t like me much”.

Mukki laughed loudly. “Well ain’t you a real renegade”. He looked like he considered this information for a second before he nodded decidedly. “I like it! And you’re in luck; me and the boys are crossin’ to Junon with a private boat tonight”.

“You and the boys, huh?” Seph repeated, a wry grin spreading across his face. “Excellent”.

~~

“ _An’ next time you try to pick up chicks, ya might wanna make sure they_ are _chicks first, you blind ass creep!_ ” Seph shouted, flipping off the car as it sped away and left him standing on the side of a desolate road.

So far, Operation: Hitchhiking from Junon to Midgar had _not_ gone as smoothly as he had wished. After working through four cars he had barely even moved at all. At this point, he might as well walk. That’d at least save him from having to deal with another touchy fucker. And of course, the one person who hadn’t been all gropy had been totally plastered. _Not_ a risk Seph was willing to take. Ever.

Seph sighed, deciding that he could at least walk while he waited for the next creep to come along and ruin his day further.

He had been walking for what felt like days when he finally heard the wonderful sound of a vehicle. He whipped around, and the sunlight glinting off the truck in the distance was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Filled with a newfound energy and love for the world and all its inhabitants, Seph held his thumb out, trying not to look too desperate as he watched the truck get closer.

Finally, the truck rolled to a stop beside him, and Seph was overtaken by hesitation. What if this was another one of _those_ drivers? Knowing his luck, it probably would be. Might be better not to risk it. It wasn’t too far to walk to Midgar, anyway. Seph pulled up a mental map and winced. On second thought, it really was a long way to walk. Especially if he had to go around the mountains. He could fly, maybe? His last long flight had completely drained him, though. Then again-

“Hey!” a voice shouted and the passenger side door of the truck was flung open. A woman leaned her head out through the door, giving him an irritated look. “You gettin’ in or not?”

Seph looked up at her, squinting at the three piercings in her ear. Maybe, just maybe, his luck was about to change. “... You a lesbian?”

The woman laughed. “Sure am”.

“Thank fuck for that”, Seph exhaled and climbed up into the truck, slamming the door shut behind him.

The woman laughed again. “Well, that’s a first”. She switched gears and moved her leg, getting the truck to slowly start to roll forward again. “So where’re you goin’? Seat belts on”.

“Midgar”, Seph answered and fastened his seat belt.

“Really? You’re in luck then, ‘cause so am I”. She turned her head to check for other cars, blindly throwing the truck into the next gear as it gained momentum. “My wife lives there”.

Seph glanced at her. “And you don’t?”

The woman laughed. “Me? I live on the road. Can’t keep me locked up in a cramped place for too long”.

“You tellin’ me this isn’t cramped?”

That earned him the loudest snort he had ever heard. “That’s a good one, kid!” She glanced over at Seph for a second and chuckled. “You might not be a total looker, but you’ve sure got some sass in ya”.

“Well, you know”, Seph said flippantly, deciding to humour her, “we can’t all be perfect”.

~~

“Mom, holy _fuck_ , you have _no idea_ what kind of fucked up shit I’ve had to deal with”, Seph complained as he slammed the door shut behind him, pausing to kick off his boots before striding across to the fridge. “We got anythin’ to eat? I’m fuckin’ _starving_ ”, he said as he opened the fridge to look for himself. Then, his mind finally processed something, and he straightened his back, looking around the quiet room.

“... Mom?”

There was no answer, so he tried again, louder.

“ _Mom!_ ”

Still no answer.

Seph stood frozen, listening intently. Then, he shrugged. _Guess she’s not home, then._

He grabbed the first thing he could reach in the fridge and swallowed it almost without chewing, too intent on consuming food to put much mind into what it was. Having satisfied one of his basic human needs, he made his way to the next stop on his list, almost strutting at the prospect of finally, _finally_ getting to do something about his hair.

The water in the shower was, quite frankly, ice-fucking-cold, but it fulfilled its purpose.

Seph combed his fingers through his hair experimentally and smiled when he found no tangles. At last, he felt like an actual human being again.

Even after the considerable time it had taken him to save his hair, his mom still hadn’t come home. He chewed up a couple of crackers, contemplating whether he should wait here or go outside and look for her. It actually might not take too long to find her if he flew.

Speaking of...

He glanced back at his shoulder blade, which had looked completely normal ever since he got to Costa del Sol. No wing in sight. Which was probably for the best, honestly, or people might not have been so inclined to help him.

The problem was, he hadn’t yet figured out how to make the wing come out. _Heh._

“I can’t believe I have a closet case on my back”, he said, chuckling at his own joke in the absence of an audience.

His laugh seemed to hang in the air, reminding him that he was, in fact, talking to himself. Then, his brow furrowed into a scowl as he remembered exactly why he was alone. Exactly _who_ was the reason for this incredibly unwanted roadtrip of nightmares. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until finally, he got up from his chair and stalked over to the door, stomping his boots back onto his feet.

He didn’t have time to sit around like some goddamn distressed damsel. After all, he owed a man a royal asskicking.

He flung the door open and walked forward, and then yelped as he was pulled back by an unknown force and fell back onto his arse. He glared over his shoulder at the wing, which had apparently reappeared sometime on his way across the room, and had then gotten him stuck in the doorframe.

“Y’know what, I think you and I are gonna have to have a talk”.

The wing didn’t seem guilty in the slightest. Come to think of it, Seph didn’t even know if it was sentient to begin with. He glared at it extra hard, though, just in case, before he walked outside - sideways - and took to the sky.

A quick round of the slums told him that his mom wasn’t there. Neither were that many other people, he noted. That usually meant something big was going on above the plate. _Worth a shot_ , he thought and changed his trajectory, heading for the nearest route up.

The upper level also seemed unusually quiet, with close to no people outside. Yep, something big was definitely going on.

Wanting to get a better overview of the situation, Seph flew higher. Rising above the rooftops, he spun around slowly, taking in the city from above. His gaze fell on a weird shadow that covered almost half of Midgar. Confused, he looked up again.

“Okay”, he said, taking in the sight of the missing Junon Cannon perched slapbang in the centre of Midgar, “that’s _not_ supposed to be there”.

Even more confused than before, he looked around again, letting his gaze sweep through Midgar and past the city borders. Nothing else looked- No, wait. He had spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

He warily turned his head toward the sea and stared disbelievingly at the gigantic monster marching toward the city. And by gigantic, he meant _absolutely fuckin’ huge_. He hovered in the air for a moment, just taking in the sight of oncoming doom. And then, he made up his mind.

“You know what I’m not gonna deal with today? That”.

With that, he turned right around and flew off toward the other end of town to find a good place to both hide and keep a look-out from. Because if there was one thing he had learned about Cloud and the others, it was that if there was trouble, they would somehow get stuck right in the middle of it.

And since a fuckbig cannon in Midgar was about as much trouble as it could get, Cloud and the others would very probably try to do something about it.

Seph nodded. His mind was made up and his plan was flawless. He would take cover and wait out the monster. He would then fly to the top of the Shinra building to look for Cloud. And when he found him...

_I’ll kick his fuckin’ dick off._


	25. Mother's Day

“Then we fought Weapon, the cannon fired and killed it, and we went to find Hojo”. Cloud shrugged. “You know the rest”.

Seph nodded slowly, silence falling as he took in the information. Then, he shoved at Cloud's shoulder, a pout on his face. “You guys went to space without me? Dick move”.

“We'll invite you along next time. If you behave”, Cloud smiled and gave him a half-hearted shove in retaliation.

“I'll behave as long as you don't drown my fuckin’ phone again”, Seph joked in a somewhat softer voice, gauging the reaction. Testing the waters, as it were.

“Nevermind 'bout all that now, it's all in the past!” The smell of cigarettes enveloped them as Cid plopped down beside them and threw an arm around Seph's shoulders. “The important thing is: Whatcha think 'bout the Highwind, Seph? Ain't she a beauty?”

Seph shrugged, but his smile betrayed his excitement. “Don't have anythin’ to compare it to, but yeah, it's pretty kickass”.

Cid shone like the sun at the praise and nodded eagerly. “That's right she is!” He turned to look through the big windshield and his face darkened as he sighed. “Too bad that big ol’ rock's blockin’ the view”.

There was an obvious shift in the mood on the bridge at those words. All other conversations ended and everyone turned their attention to Cloud, Seph and Cid.

Cloud shifted in his seat. “Yeah. We should talk about that”.

Red XIII nodded slowly as his tail twitched back and forth. “Grandfather said... that Meteor will fall in about seven days”.

Cloud studied his dejected face. “Red... no, Nanaki... You want to go see everyone in Cosmo Canyon again?”

Nanaki hesitated for a long moment before he finally conceded. “... Yes”.

Cloud nodded and turned to Barret. “And you want to see Marlene, right?”

Barret crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. “... Don’t ask me that. ‘S hard enough as it is”.

Yuffie swallowed audibly and did a non-committal imitation of her usual air punches. “At least the plan’s simple. We just have to take out Aerith, right?”

Cloud gave a small nod. “That’s part one. Part two is releasing Holy. If we can’t do that...”

Tifa filled in the rest of his sentence. “... there won’t be a planet left to protect”.

“Hey now”, Barret said with a disapproving look, “we have the White Materia back, right? So don’t be thinkin’ you’re gonna lose before ya even try!”

Cloud shook his head. “That’s not it. What I meant was...” He trailed off and scratched the back of his head. What _did_ he mean, really?

“I think”, Tifa said slowly, clearly trying to figure out how to explain her thoughts with words, “we all need to understand what we’re really fighting for”.

“Exactly”, Seph agreed and stretched out his legs leisurely. “Everyone’s just goin’ on and on about ‘saving the Planet’ and ‘saving the future of the Planet’. But I’m not byin’ it”. His lips formed a crooked smile and he shrugged. “Might be ‘cause I only just got the full scope on things, but I don’t really feel like savin’ a whole planet just for the heck of it”.

Cloud nodded in understanding, growing more confident in his own opinions. “I’ve been thinking, and I think that for me, this is personal”. He let the words hang in the air for a second. They felt right. They felt like _his own._ He nodded again, confidently. “What I want is to beat Aerith and settle my past. Saving the Planet just happens to be part of that”.

“Me too”, Tifa said and flexed her fingers, a sudden determined scowl passing over her face like a shadow. “I think we’re all really fighting for ourselves. And for something... or someone... that’s important to us”.

Silence fell over the bridge as everyone considered this.

Barret scratched his head and shuffled his feet before he sighed, a conflicted look on his face. “You’re right... It sounds cool sayin’ it’s all to save the Planet... but I was the one who blew up that Mako reactor”. He heaved another, deeper sigh. “Lookin’ back on it now, I can see that wasn’t right. I made a lot of friends and innocent people suffer...”

Tifa reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Barret smiled sadly.

“I was never really fightin’ for the Planet”, he continued, sounding almost relieved to say it out loud. “First, it was just revenge against the Shinra for attackin’ my town. But now...” He grew quiet and nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah. Now, I'm fightin’ for Marlene. For her future... I want to save the planet for Marlene’s sake”.

Cloud nodded at him and then turned his head to look at everyone in turn. “You can't fight without a reason, right? So I want all of you to go find out your reasons for yourselves. I want you to make sure”. He was surprised at how calm his voice was. “And... I won't hold it against you if you don't come back”.

~~

“So, where’s this ‘something I should see’?” Seph asked as he trudged along behind Vincent, kicking at the sand just because.

“It’s just up ahead”, Vincent answered without turning around.

Seph rolled his eyes at his ever cryptic ways. “You’re a sparklin’ conversationalist, you know that? Makes comin’ with you all the way to who-the-fuck knows where feel like the party of a lifetime”.

Vincent stayed silent.

Seph kicked at the sand again. And then he realised something. “Hey, by the way, how come you can drive a submarine?”

Vincent glanced briefly over his shoulder and shrugged. “I’m a Turk, I know things”.

Seph rolled his eyes hard enough to hurt. “ _Please_ tell me you’re not makin’ that a thing”.

“We’re here”, Vincent announced and pressed himself to the rockface beside a waterfall, completely ignoring Seph’s comment.

Seph considered throwing another jab at Vincent, but quickly realised that it would almost certainly be met with more silence. As he begrudgingly admitted defeat, he followed Vincent along the rockface until they had passed behind the waterfall and were suddenly standing in a round cave, dimly lit by a blue crystal.

Seph raised an eyebrow and gave a low whistle. “Wow. Nice place you got here. You come here often?”

Once again, Vincent ignored him. Instead, he walked slowly in the direction of the crystal. “Lucrecia, look”, he spoke in a softer voice than Seph had thought possible, “Sephiroth’s here. I brought him, like I promised”.

Seph was about to seriously begin to question whether he should really have gone along with this possible lunatic, when the glow of the crystal suddenly intensified and a voice carried through the cave like a gust of wind through a forest.

_“Sephiroth?”_

“Uh”, Seph began, unsure of how exactly to continue. “Just Seph, actually. Dunno ‘bout any Sephiroths”.

 _“Sephiroth...”_ the voice continued regardless. _“I am so sorry...”_

Intrigued, Seph stepped closer, squinting against the light. “Why? I don’t even know who you are, what’ve you got to be sorry for?”

 _“Exactly that”_ , the voice sighed. _“Never being there for my son... for you”._

“Yeah, about that”, Seph said slowly, considering his situation and how to phrase his question as to not anger the disembodied voice in the hidden waterfall cave. “I’m still not really clear on what you mean by that”.

_“The two of you were born on the same day, you and Aerith... Ifalna and I switched you, faked the records to say that you were her son”._

Vincent, who had stayed silent until then, shook his head. “Impossible. No one can fake Shinra records”.

The light flickered, and when the voice spoke again, it sounded almost amused. _“I'm a scientist. I make the records”._

“Yeah, but... why?” Seph asked, confused beyond words. “Why’d you switch us?”

There was a soft gust of air, like a sigh. _“I wonder that myself... If it really made a difference... If we changed anything...”_

“Changed what?” Seph walked forward again, and finally saw the woman inside the crystal, seemingly frozen. There was a sudden tightness in his chest at how much she looked like his mom... like Ifalna. Then he took another step and the likeness was gone, and he was standing in front of a complete stranger. “What did you wanna change?”

The voice stayed silent and the light of the crystal slowly dimmed, until the cave was just barely lit up enough to find your way out.

“What were you gonna change?” Seph asked again and placed a hand on the crystal. It was cold. He didn’t know what else he had expected. He studied the woman’s face, trying to read her expression. His only results were the realisation that her nose looked very similar to his own. Hardly compelling evidence, but it was all he was going to get for now, it seemed.

The hand that landed on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, and he almost felt grateful.

“Let’s go”, Vincent said, and Seph just nodded and followed him out of the cave.

The light of the sun and of Meteor felt weirdly comforting, and every step away from the cave seemed to make what had just happened easier to digest. By the time they were halfway to the submarine, it all felt like just another day in the fucked up life of Seph Gainsborough. So, naturally, as with everything else, Seph had to joke about it.

“So, you and Lucrecia, huh”, he said, a knowing grin on his face as he leaned closer to Vincent. “... You were fuckin’, right?”

Vincent’s voice was deadpan and unamused. “We were in love”.

Seph laughed and rolled his eyes. “Call it what you want. I’m right though, aren’t I?”

Vincent’s silence answered the question for him.

“So for all we know”, Seph joked, “you could be my dad”.

Vincent shook his head. “Not probable”.

Seph hadn’t been expecting Vincent’s choice of words. “But _possible_ ”, he tried, and was once again answered with silence. “C’mon, gimme somethin’ to work with here”, he complained. “I can live with her bein’ my mom, but havin’ that dickfuck as my dad? I’d rather choke on a literal shitton of-”

“Language, young man”, Vincent reprimanded him.

Seph rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Whatever you say, _grandpa_ ”.

Unless Seph was very much mistaken, there was something like amusement in Vincent’s voice. “I thought I was your dad now?”

Seph clicked his tongue in annoyance. “You've been demoted”.

~~

Seph had to duck his head slightly to fit through the low doorway, and barely had the time to step inside the small house before his leg was caught in an inescapable grip.

“Sephy!” Marlene cheered and jumped up and down excitedly, a huge grin on her face.

Seph smiled and gave her head a pat. “Hey, Marlene, how ya doin’?” He then tried his best to hobble out of the doorway with Marlene still clutching onto his leg, to her obvious delight.

She giggled and hugged his leg even tighter. Then she looked like she remembered something important. “Sephy, Sephy! D’you wanna know a thing?”

Seph grinned and crouched down as far as he could to mock whisper to her. “Is it a secret thing?”

Marlene giggled again and shook her head. “No, Papa’s here!”

“Really?” Seph gasped. “That’s great!”

Marlene nodded enthusiastically. “Mhm, I love Papa! I go play now”, she said and immediately let go of Seph to disappear into another room.

“You do that”, Seph called after her, and smiled to himself at her admirable amount of energy.

“You two seem to get along well”.

Seph turned to Vincent and shrugged. “She thinks my hair’s pretty. Apparently, that makes us best friends”.

The sound of a door opening and a gasp made them turn toward another doorway, where Elmyra stood, frozen, and stared disbelievingly at Seph.

The silence stretched on for an unbearably long time, until Seph slowly lifted his hand to give her a small wave.

“Hi, mom”.

From there, it took Elmyra less than a second to cross the room and wrap him up in a tight hug.

“Oh, Seph, I’m so glad you’re alright! I’ve been worried sick!” She suddenly pulled away, holding him at arm’s length and scowling up at him. “Why didn’t you call? You promised you’d call”.

This whole scene felt so familiar that Seph couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her. “Mom, we talked, like, yesterday. And also my phone’s drowned and he doesn’t have one”.

His comment seemed to finally make Elmyra realise that they weren’t alone. She quickly looked Vincent up and down, looking surprised that she hadn’t noticed him in the first place. “Oh? And who is he?”

Vincent nodded at her in greeting. “Vincent Valentine”.

“And he’s much older than he looks”, Seph quickly added, “trust me”.

Elmyra swatted his arm and pointed an accusing finger at him. “Watch it, you”.

Seph grinned. “Sorry, I forgot your taste in men is nowhere near as good as mine”.

“Whose taste in what, now?” came Barret’s timely intervention, followed by a delighted ‘wheeeee’ from Marlene, who was lying on her stomach on Barret’s shoulder with her arms stretched out to either side.

“Look, Sephy! Airplane!” she exclaimed and giggled wildly as Barret made customary airplane noises before gently lifting her off his shoulder and setting her down on the floor.

“How long’re you two gonna stay?” Barret asked and blindly reached out with his hand to stop Marlene from running headfirst into the edge of a table. “Marlene says she wants to play with ya more”.

Seph shrugged. “No idea. Guess I don’t really have anywhere else to be, though”.

“Then why don’t you stay here?” Elmyra suggested. “Barret’s staying, too, and there’s room for more people”.

“Sephy stays! Sephy stays!” Marlene chanted and jumped up and down, eyes shining with glee.

Seph shrugged again and smiled. “Seems I don’t have much of a choice”.

Elmyra nodded and turned to Vincent. “You too, Vincent. You’re welcome to stay if you like”.

Marlene followed Elmyra’s line of vision and finally noticed Vincent. Her smile faded and her eyes grew incredibly wide before she quickly hid behind Barret, clutching tightly onto his trousers.

“Hey now”, Barret laughed, “no need to be shy. Vincent’s our friend. Come out an’ say hi”.

Marlene squeezed her mouth shut and shook her head, pressing even closer to Barret’s leg.

Barret gave Vincent an apologetic smile and a shrug. “She gets shy around new people, nothin’ personal”.

Vincent shrugged stiffly. “I don’t blame her”.

While Barret tried to coax Marlene into at least waving at Vincent, Seph suddenly had an idea.

He walked over to crouch down beside Marlene, and tried to look like he was having a very important thought. “Hey, Marlene. Dontcha think Vincent has really long, pretty hair?”

Marlene stayed silent, but he could tell she was considering his statement.

“Kinda like my hair, dontcha think?” Seph continued.

That made Marlene peek out from behind Barret and eye Vincent’s hair. “... Not pretty enough”, she decided disapprovingly. Then her eyes went wide with realisation and she smiled at Seph. “We make it pretty!”

Seph grinned. “You think so?”

“Mhm!” Marlene nodded and ducked between Barret’s legs to run up to Vincent. She grabbed onto his hand and pulled, confident that he would follow.

Vincent let himself be led, looking comically lost as he was told to sit down on a chair.

Marlene hurried off into one of the other rooms and returned armed with a hairbrush. She giggled as she climbed onto another chair and began to brush Vincent’s hair.

Seph suddenly mourned the loss of his phone even more, because getting a picture of the face Vincent was making would have made his entire year. To his unimaginable joy, Barret suddenly dug out his phone and the shutter sound went off several times in a row before he pocketed it again, a huge smile on his face.

“That’ll make for nice blackmail”, he said smugly and winked at Seph.

“That seems unlikely”, Vincent said, unamused, “but you’re welcome to try”.

Barret laughed. “Not for you. For Marlene”. He leaned closer to Seph and gave him a nudge with his shoulder. “Can’t wait to embarrass her when she gets older”.

Seph smiled and nudged him back. “Trust me, you’ll have no problem bein’ embarrassing”.

~~

There were many feelings and hugs involved when the time finally came to leave the little house in Kalm. Seph had lost count of how many times he had slithered his way out of Elmyra’s arms to stand by the door, fully ready to get out there and save the world. The reason he hadn’t left yet was that Barret was taking an impossibly long time saying goodbye to Marlene.

“Papa, do you hafta leave?”

Seph had lost count of how many times Marlene had asked that question, but it still seemed to make Barret feel incredibly guilty.

Crouched down in front of her, Barret stroked her hair gently. “I have to”, he confirmed and smiled. “Papa has to go save the Planet with Seph and the others”.

Marlene looked up at him with a thoughtful expression. “Will you make the big sun go away?”

Barret laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s it”.

Seph shifted his weight impatiently by the door. “Come on, let’s get goin’ already”, he complained. As much as he hated to intrude on their moment, he really wanted to leave.

He had been thinking a lot about what Cloud and Tifa had said - about fighting for something. All of his thinking had left him with a theory... or maybe more of an inkling. But he needed confirmation, and he wouldn’t get that by staying here.

Down on the floor, Barret sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right”. He hugged Marlene one last time before making his way over to the door, almost tripping over her as she suddenly ran past him to stand in front of Seph.

“You!” she exclaimed and pointed at Seph and Vincent. “You keep Papa safe!”

“Marlene”, Barret protested, an embarrassed look on his face.

“Sure thing”, Seph grinned and nudged Vincent. “Right?”

Vincent nodded seriously and crouched down to be at eye level with Marlene. “You have my word”, he said and extended his hand for Marlene to shake.

Marlene looked quizzically at him and then up at Seph.

“He means ‘I promise’”, he translated, and Marlene’s face lit up with a huge smile.

She grabbed onto Vincent’s fingers and shook his hand as firmly as she possibly could. “Good”, she said and then turned to Seph. “You keep Papa safe, too!”

Seph nodded and reached down with his hand. “I will, I promise”.

Marlene shook his hand, before squealing in delight as she was scooped up by Barret.

“Alright, that’s enuffa that, let’s get this show on the road already!” He decided and blew a raspberry on Marlene’s forehead before he set her down again and gave her head a pat. “I’ll see ya when it’s over”.

Marlene nodded and waved excitedly at them as they exited the house. “Bye!”

“Alright then”, Seph said once the door had swung shut behind them He looked up at the sky, squinting against the light. “Time to catch that airship”. With that, he began walking briskly across town, his sights set on the agreed rendezvous point just outside Kalm.

While Seph practically power walked ahead, Vincent and Barret followed him silently at a more reasonable pace.

“What you said back then...” Vincent said suddenly, making Barret turn his attention to him, “... on the Highwind, about fighting for Marlene...” His eyes were fixed on Seph’s back, and there was something soft in his expression. “I think... I know what you mean, now”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're so close to the end that you could lick it, probably. Thank you so much for staying with me this far, and get ready for the two last chapters next week! <3<3  
> Oh, and happy holidays!


	26. Climax and Annihilation of the World

Cloud was honestly kind of shocked when he and Tifa entered the bridge to find everyone - including the crew of the Highwind - already there, waiting for them.

“Finally”, Seph exhaled from where he was leaning against the doorframe. He reached out and bumped Cloud’s shoulder with his fist, a grin on his face. “Took ya long enough”.

“Yeah”, Yuffie agreed and swung her legs from her perch on the railing. “I made it halfway around the Planet and back faster than you two. _And_ I was seasick the _whole way_. Speaking of... which-” She suddenly cut off and jumped down from the rail, and Cloud and Tifa stepped out of the way as she bolted from the bridge, looking both horrified and annoyed.

“That poor lass...” Cait Sith sighed and then looked up at Cloud apologetically. “I wanted to come with you all myself; to apologise and help you fight in person. But I couldnae get away...” He shook his head and put his hands to his sides. “Well, I may be a stuffed cat, but I’ll work hard!” he vowed with a determined nod.

Cloud nodded at him in acknowledgement and then let his eyes move from person to person. “Thanks, everyone”.

Barret let out a snort. “What’re you thankin’ us for? ‘S not like we came back for the sake of your spikey headed ass”.

Despite himself, Cloud smiled. “Still, you all came back”.

“We all found our reason for fighting, like you said”, Red XIII said, and his tail snapped back and forth.

“Well”, came Cid’s voice from over at the helm, “no point in waitin’ then, is there?”

Vincent nodded. “Let’s see this through to the end”.

“Last time we saw Aerith was in the Northern Crater”, Tifa said and walked over to the crew members at the nearest control panel, peering over their shoulders curiously. “Will she still be there?”

Cid shrugged. “Beats me, but it’s as good a place to start as any”. He threw a look over his shoulder. “Whaddaya say, Cloud?”

“It’s our best guess”, Cloud agreed. “I’m counting on you, Cid”.

Cid grinned widely. “Roger that!” He pulled a lever and the Highwind began to accelerate. “Come on, my beauty. Time to go kick Aerith’s ass!”

As the Highwind picked up speed, Cloud aimlessly walked over to lean back against the railing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _This is it. This is where it all ends, one way or another._

The sound of steps and a soft rustling beside him made him open his eyes again to find that Seph had joined him by the railing. Their eyes met and Seph gave him a small smile, to which Cloud responded with a smile of his own. Then, a thought occurred to him.

“Hey, Seph?”

Seph’s smile widened slightly. “Yeah?”

Was it just Cloud, or did Seph seem to be leaning in closer?

Cloud swallowed, unsure if he even had the right to ask this question. “What’re you fighting for?”

There was a flash of gentleness in Seph’s eyes so brief that Cloud wasn’t even sure that he hadn’t imagined it. Then, Seph leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling. “Honestly? I’m not really sure”. He shrugged and turned back to Cloud with a grin. “Guess I’ll just hafta fight to find it”.

“Woah, what the- _shit!_ ”

Cid’s sudden outburst was followed by the whole airship lurching and briefly leaning almost forty five degrees.

With a surprised yelp, Seph grabbed onto Cloud to avoid falling backwards off the rail, and a voice called from the area outside the bridge.

_“Ouch!? Do you even know how to fuckin’ drive this shit?!”_

“ _Language!_ ” Cid called back as he threw a couple of levers and switches and spun the steering wheel, righting the Highwind again. “There we go. Status?”

“All normal!” one of the crew members called back.

“No damage or breaches!” another crew member confirmed.

“Hey... Did you guys see that?” Barret asked, and everyone nodded gravely.

Everyone, except for Cloud and Seph.

Seph frowned at them. “Saw what, exactly?”

Tifa turned to him, her face a mask of barely contained rage. “Aerith just flew right past us”.

Those words seemed to make the whole world spin faster as Cid and the crew members began working the controls fervently.

“Radar shows unidentified object moving southeast!” a crew member reported. “Predicted course leads straight to Midgar!”

“Then that’s where we’re headin’!” Cid exclaimed and flipped a couple of switches. Then he threw a look over his shoulder and grinned. “Hold onto somethin’”, he warned before he spun the wheel and threw a lever.

Cloud barely had the time to get a firm grip on the railing before the Highwind lurched and accelerated faster than he had thought possible and skidded into a narrow turn, the sheer force of which pressed Cloud almost painfully hard up against the railing.

“ _Woah,_ look at ‘er _go!_ ” Cid whooped from the helm and righted the ship again. He gave another lever a considering look, and then grinned widely. “What the heck”, he laughed and threw it. “ _Geronimo!_ ”

~~

Midgar had no right to look so abandoned when the streets were filled with people. Some were running, some were screaming, some were doing both, and some were standing completely still, their eyes fixed on the orb of burning doom that was now covering the sky above Midgar. Meteor was coming, and Cloud could only hope that they would actually be able to stop it.

“Holy’s s’posed to get rid of Meteor, right?” Barret shouted as they hurried along the streets, cutting through the panicking crowd. “Seph has the Materia, so can’t he like, pray to it or somethin’?”

“The day I pray to a cracked marble is the day I- _Watch where you’re goin’, asshat!_ ” Seph shouted, glaring hotly at the person who’d bumped into him before refocusing on their headlong sprint. “‘Sides, I’m not really an Ancient, remember? Who says the Planet would even listen to me?”

“Well, isn’t that just _perfect_ ”, Yuffie groaned, her comment almost drowning in a sudden screaming frenzy from some streets away.

Tifa increased her pace to run alongside Cloud. “Cloud, do you know where we’re going?”

He nodded. “If Aerith’s in Midgar, there’s only one place she’d go”.

“An’ that’s where, exactly?” Cid huffed from behind them, wrestling with his spear to light a new cigarette as he ran.

“The Shinra building”, Cloud said as he skidded around a turn and the building in question suddenly towered above them, its large shadow intensified by the bright light of Meteor. “We’ll split up, check all floors”, he instructed while they rushed toward the entrance. “Tifa, Seph, Cait Sith and Vincent with me in the lifts. Everyone else, take the stairs”.

“No, not the stairs”, Barret whined even as the group split up as Cloud had said.

They charged in to find the entrance hall mostly empty, and that first impression lasted through most of the floors.

The few people they saw - mostly smartly dressed employees and SOLDIER Third Classes - paid them no mind, too busy scurrying around in confusion themselves.

At last, there were only three floors left to check, and Cloud was hit by an immense sense of deja vú, along with the memory of the smell of blood. He was also suddenly stricken with a certainty that what they were looking for would be on this floor.

“Watch out”, he warned the others as he peeked around a corner. “Something's here”.

The others nodded and they continued down the corridor of floor 68, carefully making their way toward where they had met Red XIII and saved Seph what felt like years ago.

The first thing that greeted them once they reached the end of the corridor was a dead body. The second thing was a huge creature that looked like a vaguely human torso stuck to a wrecking ball. The third thing was a general feeling of ‘not this shit again’.

Cloud sighed and grabbed his sword off his back. “Alright, JENOVA, you know the drill”.

~~

With JENOVA once again defeated, there were only two more floors to check. Cait Sith and Vincent walked a bit behind the others while Cloud took the lead as they ascended the stairs, his whole being entirely devoted to looking for any sign that Aerith was there.

A sudden burst of giggling behind him made him spin around and reach for his sword, prepared to find himself face to face with Aerith. Instead, he saw Tifa and Seph shoving at each other while giggling uncontrollably.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “What's so funny?”

Tifa opened her mouth to answer, but the only thing that came out was a strangled laugh, and she shoved at Seph again.

Seph snorted and took a deep breath, letting out another small giggle as he pointed up at the wall at the top of the stairs.

Cloud looked up at the big ‘69’ signifying which floor they were currently on, and then turned back to give Seph and Tifa an unimpressed look.

“Haha, _very_ mature”, he said sarcastically, but still couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. Especially since Seph and Tifa's cackling was growing to be infectious.

“What’s going on up there?” Cait Sith asked as he and Vincent appeared behind Tifa and Seph.

Once again, Tifa tried to answer but instead almost doubled over from laughing. Seph had no better luck when he tried to explain why they were suddenly shaking with laughter on the day of possible Armageddon.

“It’s not important”, Cloud said with as straight a face as he could muster. “Let’s keep going”.

Vincent eyed him and the others suspiciously, and Cloud gave him a shrug before he started walking again.

A guttural groan made them all freeze and turn as it echoed up through the stairwell, along with heavy thunks and what sounded like distorted, ragged breaths.

Cloud mimed to the others to spread out around the stairwell and everyone readied their weapons. Whatever monster it was was in for a nasty surprise once it reached their floor.

The sounds grew louder and louder and at last, something rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Or rather, someone. And when this someone saw Vincent’s gun, they let out a high-pitched scream.

“Nooo! I didn’t steal anythin’, promise! Don’t shoot, I’m too young to die!” Yuffie pleaded and cartwheeled out of sight again. Her voice was still clearly audible as she called out to someone. “Hurry _up_ , you geezers, they have _guns!_ ”

“We’ve been doin’ nothin’ _but_ hurryin’ up”, came Cid’s strained voice.

“And might I add that I am _not_ a geezer”, Red XIII commented. Even he sounded a bit winded after their climb, Cloud noted.

“It’s okay, it’s just us”, Cloud called down to them and put away his sword again. “You all alright?”

“Hear that? It’s just Cloud!” Yuffie said excitedly and came into view again, waving happily at them. “Hiya! We’re doin’ great!”

“Yeah, _definitely_ ”, Cid huffed and walked into view, stomped out a cigarette and lit a new one. “Could do with a nap, though. Or ten”.

Cloud looked at the three of them and furrowed his brow. “... Where’s Barret?”

Red XIII glanced over his shoulder and sighed. “Don’t worry. He’s on his way”.

That comment made Cloud realise that he could still hear the echoing groans and thunks.

They all waited while the sounds grew continuously louder until, finally, Barret’s hand landed firmly on Cid’s shoulder and he practically fell into view, breaths heaving with the effort.

Barret dried the sweat off his forehead and glared tiredly up at Cloud. “Never. Again. Stairs”.

Cloud did his best to look and sound sympathetic. “Never again”, he agreed.

Barret groaned in appreciation and he and his group walked up to join up with Cloud and the others. The gang were all together again.

“Let’s split up and check this floor”, Cloud decided, and everyone nodded.

Barret wheezed and took a couple of deep breaths. “Wha- what floor’s this?”

Seph and Tifa shared a look at his question, and then they both began giggling again.

Barret sighed and gave an unenthusiastic roll of his eyes. “Okay. Floor 69. Got it”.

This floor felt eerily empty and quiet after the encounter with JENOVA on the last floor. The ceiling and most of the walls were scorched and blackened from Diamond Weapon’s attack, which added to the general feeling of foreboding.

Once the floor had been declared clear and there was no more postponing the inevitable, they all proceeded to the two staircases leading up to the president’s office. They split up the same way as last time, one team on each staircase.

“Okay, guys”, Cloud said, his voice unexpectedly calm. “The plan is to defeat Aerith. She’s powerful, so be prepared for anything”.

He was met with determined faces and nods, and the two groups began ascending the stairs. This was it. The final showdown was about to commence, and Cloud would finally find closure.

He grabbed his sword off his back and took a deep breath before he charged up the last few steps, closely followed by Tifa and Seph.

_Get ready, Aerith!_

Once they had barged into the president’s office, Cloud had to stop at the sight they were met with. The whole room was charred beyond recognition, obviously having taken the brunt of Weapon’s blast.

The room was also empty. No Aerith in sight.

Cloud felt like punching a wall. Tifa actually did.

“She’s _gone!_ I can’t fuckin’ believe it!” she shouted, practically fuming with rage. She glared at the indent she had left in the wall before kicking it for good measure. “An’ we almost had her, too!”

“No, wait”, Cloud said, and Tifa’s head snapped toward him. He still had that feeling of having to be somewhere. Somewhere close by, somewhere just ahead. “I think she’s still here”.

Tifa’s eyes left Cloud to sweep across the room once more. “... Where?” she asked.

Cloud tried to consciously reach out for that feeling, trying to pinpoint it. “... Outside”, he declared, and it felt right. “She’s outside”.

Everyone turned toward the remnants of the big window, which was now just a slightly bigger hole in the wall.

“Well”, Cid shrugged. “Guess we’re goin’ outside, then”.

They silently made their way outside and onto the scorched helipad, their eyes sweeping the area as they walked. No Aerith.

Cloud almost began to doubt his instincts when he suddenly felt his eyes being drawn upward. He squinted up toward the very top of the building and saw a person, backlit by the burning Meteor, dangling their legs over the edge. As he watched, the person raised their hand to give him a teasing little wave.

“Guys”, Cloud said without taking his eyes off Aerith, “she’s on the roof”.

A girly giggle carried down to them and Aerith kicked her feet. Then, she slowly lifted from the roof until she was sitting in thin air, encased in a whirlwind. She waved again and floated backwards, away from them.

“Seph”. Cloud finally looked away from Aerith to fix Seph with a determined look. “Take us up there”.

Seph grinned and winked at him. “Anywhere”, he said and his wing appeared with a ‘whoosh’. He then wound one arm tightly around Cloud's waist and the other around Tifa's. “Hold on”, he warned, and Cloud and Tifa wrapped their arms around his shoulders.

Seph looked up at the rooftop, where Aerith had now floated out of sight, and his mouth twitched. “This better work”, he muttered under his breath, bent his knees, and beat his wing as hard as he could.

Cloud instinctively clung onto Seph with all his might when they suddenly shot up from the ground at an impossible speed. He would have screamed, had he not been so utterly shocked that all sounds escaped him.

 _“Oh shit”_ , he heard Seph hiss, and their ascent slowed until they were hovering in the air.

Cloud chanced a glance downward and immediately wished he hadn’t. They were hovering _very_ high up in the air, way above the roof of the Shinra building. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “Seph”.

“Yeah?” Seph’s voice sounded strained.

“ _Never_ do that again”.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure about the extra weight”. Seph huffed a laugh, still sounding strained. “Shit, goin’ down’s so much harder than goin’ up”.

“Seph”, Tifa said, calmly, “if you drop us, I’ll kick your ass into hell myself”.

“Noted”.

Cloud only opened his eyes once he felt his feet connect firmly to a solid surface.

A soft giggle carried across the rooftop.

“Well, that was unexpected, I’ll give you that”, Aerith said, still sitting in apparent thin air.

Cloud grabbed his sword and turned toward her. “Aerith!”

“That’s me”, she smiled. “And you’re... No wait, don’t tell me...” she studied Cloud closely and tilted her head in thought. Then she snapped her fingers triumphantly. “That’s it, Cloud! And Tifa’s here, too”.

Tifa’s whole body visibly tensed, but Aerith paid her no mind.

“Oh, and _you’re_ Seph, of course”, she said with a knowing grin and a wink. “Zack never shuts up about you, you know”.

“ _Shut it!_ ” Seph roared at her and raised his fist as he took a threatening step forward. “Is that why you’re here? To _mock us?_ ”

Aerith smiled at him the way someone might smile at a hissing kitten. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m here to-”

She cut off her own sentence, and her smile was replaced by a look of confusion. She looked around, wide-eyed. “... Why _am_ I here?” she asked, and there was a flash of utter helplessness in her eyes.

Then she blinked and shook her head, and her smile returned, although it seemed somehow forced. “I’m here because I want- _have_ to make sure. The place where they kept me locked up... I must see it destroyed!” She suddenly stood up and the wind around her grew stronger. “All those people who held me prisoner...” she shouted over the sound of the wind, “I want to watch them _die!_ ”

Something didn’t seem right. Aerith was behaving too erratically. Cloud frowned at her, and decided that keeping her talking might be in their best interests. “Is that really you saying that, Aerith, or is it JENOVA?”

His question made Aerith freeze, her expression suddenly riddled with uncertainty. “I... I don’t... know...” she said softly before shaking her head again with a look of determination on her face. “It's not enough to see Meteor fall. I have to make sure... The Shinra- The Shinra must be destroyed!”

Before Cloud could respond to this, Tifa stepped forward. “Meteor will destroy the whole world, and you with it!”

Aerith regarded her with a condescending smile. “You forget, I can’t die. I’m JENOVA’s daughter! I am a goddess!” She laughed and spun around and around in the air, the wind around her forming into a tornado. “Meteor will fall and the world will be reborn, just as Mother wished it!”

“JENOVA’s dead, Aerith!” Cloud had to shout to make himself heard over the wind. “She doesn’t control your life anymore!”

Aerith’s spinning stopped abruptly and she fixed Cloud with a furious glare, her eyes flashing green. “You’re lying! Mother can’t die!”

“It’s true!” Cloud pressed on. “Can’t you feel it?”

Aerith’s glare grew suspicious, and she closed her eyes. Then her eyebrows knitted together in concentration, and her face contorted into a panicked grimace. “Mother?” Her eyes flew open, their colour now shifting wildly between their usual green and a piercing Mako green while her pupils constricted and dilated erratically. “ _Mother!?_ ” she shouted, and her eyes darted around the rooftop. “ _Mother!_ ”

Tifa crouched down slightly, obviously getting ready to charge, but Cloud stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

He recognised that panicked, confused face. Only a little while ago, that had been his own face. His own confusion. He took a cautious step toward her. “Aerith, listen to me. JENOVA’s been using you all along, just like she used me”.

“I-” Aerith swallowed thickly and leaned her head in her hand. “I don’t...” Then she looked at Cloud, and her eyes flashed Mako green again. “You’re wrong”, she growled, and a small ball of fire started to form in her hand.

Cloud could feel Tifa tense up beside him, and he stepped forward, careful to not seem threatening, as if he was talking to a frightened child. “I’m right, and you know it. This isn’t what you’re really like. The JENOVA cells inside you are controlling you”.

“... Me? Controlled?” Aerith muttered, and the intense Mako shine in her eyes seemed to dim.

Feeling like he was starting to get through, Cloud pressed on. “You know that thing in your mind? You can fight it, Aerith, trust me”.

“I... can fight it”, Aerith repeated as the wind around her started to die down and she descended toward the floor.

“You can”, Cloud nodded. “JENOVA’s dead now, Aerith, you can be yourself again”.

Aerith closed her eyes. “... Be myself... I can fight it...” she murmured as her feet hit the floor. She stayed silent, swaying slightly on her feet, and then she opened her eyes. “The voice is gone”, she said, and her mouth formed into an uncertain but genuine smile.

Cloud smiled back. “That’s great!”

“Okay”, Tifa huffed angrily beside him, thoroughly unimpressed. “So, no epic final battle. That’s a shame”.

Seph shifted his weight and shrugged. “Nah. Dunno ‘bout you, but I’m not gonna bitch about missin’ out on a suicide fight”.

Tifa clicked her tongue in annoyance but stayed quiet. She obviously knew that their chances of defeating Aerith in a real fight were miniscule.

Aerith’s gaze moved between the three of them until it landed on Cloud. “What happens now?” she asked, sounding just as lost as she looked.

Cloud was completely caught off guard by her question. He really hadn’t expected Aerith of all people to seek his guidance. “I... dunno”, he answered, truthfully.

Beside him, Seph shifted his weight again. “We could start by tellin’ you the truth”, he murmured, before meeting Aerith’s questioning eyes. “JENOVA isn’t really your mom. Your mom’s name is Ifalna, and she was a Cetra”.

Aerith stared at him, her face betraying the storm of emotions ripping through her.

Finally, after a long silence, she spoke. “So I’m... not a monster?” she asked in a small, hopeful voice. Her lips twitched before they formed into an excited smile. “And, I have a mom?”

A shadow of sadness passed over Seph’s face and he averted his eyes. “You... _used to_ have... She died”.

“Agh, what’s it matter!” Tifa suddenly bristled, pointing an accusing finger at Aerith. “None of this will change what she did! She killed my dad!” She turned to Cloud, hoping to find some common ground. “She killed your mum!”

Aerith watched her, and a look of dread crept onto her face. “... Nibelheim...” she whispered, and slowly brought up a hand to cover half her face. “Oh...” She suddenly swayed on her feet, looking absolutely horrified. “Oh no, I'm... I'm so so sorry, I didn't- I don't- I don't know how to-”

“Apologise?” Tifa interrupted, glaring daggers at her. “Do me a favour and don’t”.

Aerith removed her hand from her face to instead knot both hands into fists and steadily meet Tifa’s furious glare. “... Repay you”.

Her ernest expression seemed to give Tifa pause, and Seph took that moment to step forward.

“Well, if you really wanna help”, he started and nodded toward Meteor, “you could start by not lettin’ the whole fuckin’ Planet blow up”.

Aerith frowned in confusion before turning around and looking up at the sky. “... Oh no”, she whispered, standing there, petrified. “What’ve I done?” She whipped back toward Cloud and the others, panic in her eyes. “I never wanted this! You have to believe me! I never-” She cut herself off, her face suddenly determined. “I have to set things right”. She turned back to Meteor and nodded. “I _will_ set things right!”

As she spoke, the White Materia around Seph’s neck suddenly started to glow faintly.

Noticing the light, Seph took the Materia in his hand, considering the sudden phenomenon for a couple seconds. Then he seemed to reach a conclusion. He reached up to unclasp the chain from around his neck and walked over to Aerith, holding out the Materia for her. “This’s a memento of Ifalna. I think... you were always meant to have it”.

Aerith regarded Seph’s face before nodding and taking the Materia in her hand. When she did, the Materia glowed brighter, giving off a soft, green light. Aerith closed her eyes and hugged the Materia to her chest, a small smile pulling at her lips.

She took a deep breath and then opened her eyes again, all doubt gone from her eyes. “You should stand back”, she instructed with the professional air of the officer she had once been. “I know what to do”. She turned back toward the now visibly approaching Meteor and adopted a steady stance. “I will set things right, and I will protect this Planet”, she declared and held the Materia up to the sky, and it glowed even brighter in her hand.

There was a flash of light, and the green glow from the Materia spread out above Aerith, like a forcefield that kept growing until Cloud could see no end to it.

 _Holy_ , he realised. He stared, transfixed, as Meteor continued its descent until it made contact with Holy.

The light of the forcefield pulsed in response, and Meteor seemed to lose its momentum and was left almost balancing on top of Holy. Then, with a cracking noise that boomed across Midgar, the forcefield parted as Meteor pressed through it.

Cloud instinctively stepped back at the sight, but Aerith just looked steadily up at Meteor, her posture showing nothing but calm confidence.

“This Planet will not be destroyed”.

Cloud suddenly got the strangest feeling, like someone had just wrapped his soul in a warm blanket. When he looked around, he saw a green light in the distance, and while he watched, the light spread until the whole ground seemed to glow.

The light seemed to become more green, and Cloud realised that it was rising up from the ground, coils and tendrils of green light looking like they were reaching out toward them.

“The Lifestream”, Seph whispered, and Cloud immediately knew that he was right.

They all watched silently while the tendrils of light came together in front of Aerith, forming into something that reminded Cloud of pictures of spiral galaxies. The spiral expanded to form another forcefield, covering the crack in Holy.

Once it had been fully formed, three thin tendrils of light detached from the new forcefield to slowly move down, glancing past Aerith’s face and shoulders before curling around the staff on her back.

Without taking her eyes off Meteor, Aerith grabbed her staff, now glowing with the green light of the Lifestream. “I can do this”, she said and adjusted her stance. “Let it through”.

At those words, the second forcefield began to distort, allowing Meteor to once again resume its path downward. In other words, directly toward Aerith.

 _“Holy shit”_ , Cloud heard Seph whisper. _“Bitch is actually fuckin’ crazy”._

Aerith stood fast while Meteor got ever nearer - near enough that the Lifestream could no  longer hold back the sweltering heat.

When Meteor was close enough to touch, Aerith suddenly moved one foot back and grabbed onto her staff with both hands. With an echoing battle cry, she lifted the glowing staff to her shoulder and swung it in a graceful arch toward Meteor.

The impact resulted in a blinding light, followed by a deafening boom.

When Cloud’s eyes had finally recovered from the unexpected lightshow, the world around him wasn’t nearly as bright as he remembered it. It didn’t take him long to understand why. Meteor was gone.

No, wait a sec. If he squinted really hard up at the sky, he could sort of make out a bright spot that looked almost like a star. Only, if was still daytime.

Seph, never at a loss for words, was the first to break the silence. “… Did you just bat away Meteor like a fuckin’ baseball? At the speed of fuckin’ _light?!_ ”

Cloud lowered his eyes to Aerith, and blinked rapidly. Unless his eyes were fucking with him, she had sprouted a pure white wing.

Apparently not too bothered by this development, Aerith dropped her staff onto the roof before she slowly walked over to the others, one of her hands clenched gently around something. She stopped in front of Seph, held out her hand and opened it.

In her palm lay the White Materia, which had cracked all the way through into two identical halves. She took one half in her other hand, and held out the other half to Seph. She gave him a gentle but nervous smile. “Seems like we were both meant to have it”.

Seph regarded the broken Materia for a moment, before he plucked it out of Aerith’s hand with a soft smile. “Thanks”.

Evidently unsure of what else to say or do, Aerith walked back to pick up her staff. As she did, she suddenly froze, her attention completely caught by a lone streak of green, isolated from the now dispersing forcefield. She stared at the tendril as it coiled in the air in front of her. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached out toward it.

 _“... Mom?”_ she said in a tiny voice, and the tendril of light wove between her fingers, up her arm and finally across her cheek. Aerith choked back a sob, and Cloud could see the green light glinting off a tear.

He considered saying something, or at least maybe go give her a friendly pat on the shoulder, but Seph moved before he had decided what to do.

Seph stopped beside Aerith, gently bumping her shoulder with his before looking up to address the green tendril, which looked to be starting to fade. “Hi, mom”, he said with a sad smile. “Just wanted to like... say goodbye, I guess. So, goodbye. Love you”, he added, and then looked like he remembered something. “Oh, and uh...” he spoke in an almost hushed voice, “could you tell Zack... I’m sorry?”

A second wisp of now barely visible green light suddenly appeared in front of Seph, and he smiled knowingly. “You heard me. I'm not saying it again”.

The two wisps twisted in the air before fading away completely, along with the last traces of the Lifestream and of Holy, leaving the sky clear and the world suddenly much less green tinted.

“We should... go find the others”, Cloud said, feeling unworthy of breaking the serene silence.

Tifa nodded, throwing a suspicious glance at Aerith. “I’ll go find a ladder”, she decided and stalked off, Aerith trailing uncertainly a bit behind her.

Seph made to follow them, but was stopped by a hand brushing against his arm.

He turned toward Cloud, who felt something in his chest both lock up and race at the same time when their eyes met. Cloud swallowed, trying to will his face into looking like something other than a nervous wreck suddenly flooded with adrenaline. “So... Find what you're fighting for yet?”

Seph pursed his lips while he considered the question. “Depends”, he finally answered.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “On what?” His breath hitched when Seph turned fully toward him and gently placed his hands on Cloud’s hips, leaning down toward him.

“On whether you say yes”, Seph murmured, his breath puffing against Cloud’s lips as he spoke.

Cloud had never felt like he was soaring before, and he had been on his fair share of airships. Now, however, he felt like he would lift off of the ground unless something held him down. He anchored himself by putting his hands on Seph’s hips, before tilting his chin up and pressing their lips together in a much needed, long overdue kiss.

Cloud honestly lost track of time while they stood there, thumbs rubbing gently against the other’s hipbones and lips moving sweetly against each other. Deep down, he never wanted the kiss to end. But of course, it had to eventually.

They both pulled back at the same time, just far enough to catch their breath.

“So...” Seph began, a hopeful tone to his voice. “Is that a yes?”

Cloud smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Seph’s lower lip.

“It is”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who recognises the title will get a virtual hug and the coolest bankai


	27. New Beginnings

Cloud almost felt guilty when Seph poked his head through the door and smiled brightly.

“Hey there, goldilocks”, Seph joked and walked over to ruffle Cloud’s hair before plopping down beside him on the bed and somehow giving him a kiss on the temple in the same motion. “Talked to Tifa downstairs. The bar’s comin’ along nicely”.

“I think we should talk”, Cloud blurted out, immediately freezing as he realised how ill-boding that had sounded.

Seph tensed beside him, giving him a confused look before leaning back slightly. “Okay. Yeah. Talk. We can do that”.

Cloud felt like he should say something reassuring, but he didn’t know what. “I’ve been thinking... about us”. He glanced at Seph, who was watching him attentively, waiting for him to continue. _Okay, let’s just get this over with._ “Back at the Gold Saucer, you said I reminded you of... Zack”.

Seph suddenly looked like he remembered something. “Yeah, about that; how do you even know about him?”

Cloud wondered briefly how to really explain his relationship with Zack, and then he shrugged. “We met on a mission and he decided we were friends”.

Seph laughed, a nostalgic gleam in his eyes. “Yeah, that’s him, alright”.

Cloud couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Seph’s laugh, but then his expression became somber again as he stared down at his hands. “Anyway, I figured out a lot of things about myself while you were...” He swallowed, “... gone”. It still hurt to think about, even though everything had turned out alright in the end. He took a deep breath. What he was about to talk about wasn’t exactly easy to say, either.

“Basically, Zack and I were both on that mission in Nibelheim I told you about. Then, we were captured by Hojo, and he experimented on us for four years. When we got out, I had developed a Mako addiction, and we were both wanted fugitives. Zack brought me with him, said he had somewhere to be. But then he... died, before we got to Midgar. I was still completely fucked up by the Mako, so instead of remembering him, like he wanted, I started projecting his personality onto myself”. He glanced up briefly at Seph to make sure he was still following. “I also found out that Hojo injected me with JENOVA cells, which is why I could feel when JENOVA was close... and why I gave the Black Materia to Aerith. And the... other thing”, he added, remembering how he had almost stabbed Seph in the back, just moments before- He shook his head. “It’s a lot to take in, I know, and I don’t really know how to explain it properly. I just thought you should know”.

Seph was uncharacteristically quiet, and Cloud began fidgeting, afraid to look him in the eyes. _I knew it_ , he thought, fighting back a wave of sadness. _I knew he’d get creeped out, he won’t even wanna see me after this-_

“... So basically, you were so high you started kinning with Zack?”

Seph’s calm and unexpected statement threw Cloud completely, and he whipped his head around to stare at him in shock. “... I... _guess?_ ”

Seph nodded knowingly. “And now you’re scared I only like you ‘cause you reminded me of my ex?”

“... Kinda, yeah”.

Seph smiled softly and lifted a hand to brush aside Cloud’s bangs, letting his fingers linger on his cheek. “Well, for your information, I like you ‘cause you’re you”.

Cloud leaned into the touch, but found himself once again looking at anything but Seph. “I only just found out who I am, how can you be so sure you like me?”

He felt a puff of air against his face as Seph leaned in closer, and Cloud finally lifted his gaze to lock eyes with him.

The warmth in Seph’s eyes was unmistakable as he leaned forward to press a kiss to the corner of Cloud’s mouth. “Just trust me on this one, yeah?”

Just that brief touch of lips had Cloud’s heart racing, and he closed his eyes as a pleasant warmth spread throughout his whole body. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes and smiling at Seph. “I trust you”.

~~

Downstairs, Tifa was busying herself with cleaning some glasses behind the counter, trying to look like she was _not_ straining her ears to their full extent to hear what was going on upstairs. Cloud had said he wanted to have a _talk_ with Seph. In her experience, a _talk_ usually ended in one of two ways; a screaming match leading to an immediate breakup, or an intense fuck session. And since both those involved were her friends, option two was definitely the one she was hoping for. She just hoped they’d have the decency to keep it down.

The chime of the bell above the door snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned around with a smile. “Welcome to 7th Heaven, what can I getcha?”

The sight in front of her made her freeze, the only part of her still moving being her jaw slowly dropping.

The woman who had just entered adjusted her brown ponytail before walking over to the bar. “Excuse me”, said Lucrecia. “I’m looking for Sephiroth”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may be finished, but I'm nowhere near done...  
> Thank you all so much for staying with me this long, and stay tuned for the next installment in an unspecified amount of time~ <3<3<3


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